


Hannah's Game

by FixOrRideDaily



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Wendigos, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, But not just for the character you think, But she and Beth are alive, Depression, F/F, F/M, Gen, I feel like a lot of my tags come with the stipulation kinda, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Sex, Kinda, Like it's not a big deal it just is, Loss of Virginity, Mutilation, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Nudity, Partial Nudity, Prank still Happened to Hannah, Public Humiliation, Rating May Change, References to Depression, Sam's parents are Nate and Elena, Self-Mutilation, Torture, but not in a sexy way, do i have to tag that, falling, like kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:16:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 59,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8360602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FixOrRideDaily/pseuds/FixOrRideDaily
Summary: A year ago her "friends" pulled a cruel prank on her that she hasn't yet recovered from. Now her big brother wants them all to meet up in the same spot to try making amends. But is that really all that's going on here?





	1. Press Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story about Hannah!!
> 
> Everyone will play a part and a few of the characters will play really big parts in this, but Hannah is the star here.
> 
> I finally have a cool idea for a Hannah story and you don't know how happy I am cause this girl does not get the love she deserves.
> 
> That being said things wil not always be from Hannah's point of view. ( I have my reasons.)
> 
> Enjoy.

Hannah stared out the window as she rode along the icy highway. She had taken this route many, many times over the years. She had done it by car most of the time. This time she was going by bus. She did not have the mind to drive a car and her companion did not know the path well enough to do it either.

“Are you alright, Hannah?” her best friend since seventh grade, Sam Giddings, checked for maybe the hundredth time since they started the journey to Canada. “Do you want to talk about anything?”

“No, I'm not fine,” Hannah answered pressing her forehead against the window. Sam was nice enough to let her have the window seat in case she needed to sulk during the ride. “I don't want to see any of those people. There's a reason I've been avoiding them.”

Hannah felt Sam's hand reach out and rub her shoulder gently. The girl knew how to care without ever pushing things too far. She knew Hannah's boundaries by this point. She isn't sure she would have even been able to get on the bus if not for Sam. She would have taken her bag, turned around and gone back home for the weekend instead.

“I know,” Sam said in a soft soothing voice, “But Josh and Beth are both going to be there. And me. We'll make sure everybody stays in check.”

Hannah sighed. That was not the problem. If she had a dime for every apology text she had received from any of her “friends” over the last year she could buy out all her father's land. She couldn't face them after what happened. After they humiliated her like that. It was bad enough she had to pass by them in school. What was Josh thinking bringing them back together like this? What did he think it would solve?

Hannah never wanted anything to do with any of them ever again.

But of course things couldn't be that simple for her. Beth and Emily were the only people who really understood certain sides of each other. Sam and Jess had known each other since they were small kids. Ashley was Josh's best friend next to Chris. Everyone she cared deeply about cared deeply about someone else she didn't want to ever speak to again. Except for Matt and Mike, but Hannah's own relationship with those two boys had always been complicated by itself. The boy that she should have wanted and the boy that she actually wanted.

“Why didn't you go up to the lodge with Beth and Josh earlier in the week?” Sam asked in an attempt to make conversation. Hannah pried her face from the cold window to look at her friend. She rubbed her forehead to warm it up.

“I wasn't sure I wanted to come. If I had gone with them I would have been stuck up there whether I wanted to be or not,” Hannah admitted. Sam nodded sadly as if she understood that feeling.

“Thanks for riding with me. I don't think I could have made it on my own,” Hannah added leaning over onto her friend's low shoulder. Sam reached her arm around Hannah and pulled her into a one-arm hug. Hannah returned it as best she could.

“That's what best friends are for right?” Sam assured her, “Don't worry Hannah. If things get bad you can always count on me to be here for you, okay?”

Hannah forced out a smile. At least she had Sam.

\---

Hannah had locked herself in her bedroom once Beth got her back to the lodge and didn't leave it the entirety of the rest of the weekend. Though that didn't mean she was left alone. Periodically it seemed that one or more of her pranksters would come to her door, bang on it a few times and then shout at her through it when she didn't answer them.

“Come on, Han. It was just a joke. It was all in good fun. We didn't mean anything by it. Did we Jess?”

“Hannah. It's Ashley. I know you can't see it but Matt is deleting the video right next to me. Promise!”

“I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have tricked you. Jess talked me into it. I still think you're a cool girl.”

Beth chased them all away by the second day. Then she and Sam hovered over her as they all gathered their things to head home. She didn't miss Mike's black eye and chipped tooth though. She'd wondered which of her protectors had given him those. From the way he shot dirty looks at Josh she'd guessed it was her older brother.

Time passed and wounds softened. 

At first none of their regular friends came to hang around the house. Except for Sam. Chris didn't even come around anymore. That was something she didn't understand. She wasn't mad at him. He hadn't done anything. Josh finally told her that he felt weird about it. He didn't want to pick any sides. He was trying to stay neutral.

Hannah hadn't even realized there were sides to take on this matter. 

\---

Beth caved first.

Hannah remembered coming home after school to find Emily and Beth in her sister's room with their books spread out along the floor and the bed. The door had been slightly ajar so Hannah had let herself into the room. The two girls were deep in conversation.

“As long as we don't do anything with biology,” Emily was saying, “I don't want to expose myself to germs and bacteria. We should stick with something physics-based.”

“Building something like that is going to be quite a bit of work though,” Beth answered, “I mean unless we keep it simple. Oh Hannah, what's up?”

Both girls turned towards her in the doorway. Emily looked a little sheepish but tried her best to smile.

“Hey Han,” she greeted, “How have you been?”

“Fine, I guess,” Hannah answered. 'What are you doing in my house? You aren't welcome here. We all hate you for what you did to me.' Hannah tried to return the smile, “What are you two doing?”

“Oh,” Beth answered turning slightly red, “Uh well Emily and I are working on our science fair project together this year. Neither of us has time to go it alone so we decided to pool our efforts.”

“If we win it will look good on our college applications,” Emily added nodding. Hannah looked from one to the other trying to process this betrayal. 

“Oh that's good then,” Hannah replied still forcing her smile. Emily looked back down at her books and Beth cleared her throat loudly.

“So did you need something sis?” she asked holding her hand out in offering.

“Oh,” Hannah answered almost forgetting why she had come in there, “I was wondering if you've seen my tennis bag. I can't find it in my room and it's not out by the home court.”

“I think mom had it emptied and washed,” Beth answered, “Try looking in the laundry room.”

“Okay then,” Hannah said shuffling away and closing the door as she did. Emily looked back up as she headed away.

“Bye Han.” Hannah didn't answer.

Beth tried to explain herself later.

“I know you're still hurt, Hannah,” she said as she sat on the floor of Hannah's room, “And you have every right to be mad, but Emily and I are friends and she's really sorry about what happened. I can't keep hating her on your behalf forever.”

“I understand,” Hannah said not looking at her sister. She really didn't, but if she said that Beth would call her whiny. She hated when Beth called her that.

“I'm not asking you to forgive her yet,” Beth continued with a sigh, “But can you try to be okay with the fact that I've started to?”

Hannah nodded.

\---

Josh was next.

It had been a long time since she heard music coming from Josh's “lair.” (The lounge in the basement he had set up for himself to get away from his sisters.) She wondered what he was doing down there. So she headed down the basement steps until she was just outside the door. Smoke poured from out of the archway. He was getting high. He never let the twins try smoking pot. He dealt to pretty much all the people they knew who smoked too and his deals all came with the condition not to give any to his two little sisters.

She heard loud laughter. Two male voices and a female one. The three normal suspects. Josh, Chris... and Ashley. Well she didn't know that was the case, but it was a pretty good assumption.

“Oh my god,” Josh laughed his voice dazed, “Yo Cochise, you need me to leave?”

“What?” Chris answered sounding loopy himself. “What you talking about?”

“You two are about five seconds from dry humping in that chair,” Josh clarified, his loud obnoxious laughter cutting through his words.

“Pfffft,” Chris answered, “Nah, this is totally innocent. Tell him, Ash.”

“You're lap is comfy.” was the only response from the female voice, which Hannah knew at that point was in fact Ashley. Josh howled out in laughter as Hannah stood and headed back up the stairs. She did not bother to confront Josh about it. Unlike Beth he didn't feel the need to explain it either. Both of his friends were just back in their lives and no excuse was ever given.

\---

Tried and true as always it was Sam who held out the longest. She at least was the most honest about it.

“Do you wanna catch a movie tonight?” Hannah asked as they sat in study hall together. It was Friday. Three months after the incident. Sam looked up from her desk and gave a heavy sigh. She put on her sorry face. The one she used when she had to give out bad news.

“I can't tonight,” Sam answered forcing herself to look Hannah in the eyes, “I have plans.”

“With Beth?” Hannah asked. Beth hadn't said anything about a date with Sam tonight. Though Hannah was still a little put-off by the idea of her best friend and her sister dating. So sometimes they didn't mention stuff about it because of this.

“Sort of,” Sam answered, “Beth is going to be there. So are Matt and Jess and Emily and Mike too.”

“Oh,” Hannah said looking back at her desk. She had expected it from her brother and sister. They were only her siblings not her friends (though the three of them were very close.) But Sam was her friend, not just her friend. Her best friend. If anyone was going to join Hannah in her righteous fury than it was going to be her. It seems that even Sam had her limits though.

“If you're really uncomfortable with it than I won't go,” Sam insisted, “It's just... you know we bought these tickets months ago. We planned on driving out tonight and getting a room for the weekend.”

Oh right. The big show in Vegas. Hannah couldn't go because she had her tennis match that weekend. She had given them all her blessing to have fun without her. But she wanted nothing more than to tell Sam that of course she couldn't go. She had to stay behind. Hannah couldn't be alone here. She needed solidarity from someone. But Sam was so ready to give up her night of fun out of town for Hannah. Too ready. Hannah knew asking it of her would only make her feel like the worse friend of the two.

“No, you go have fun,” she assured Sam, “I'll see if Josh wants to catch a movie with me instead.”

Sam did go. She had fun too. She posted a lot of photos with Jess. She was friends with them all again.

And Hannah was alone.

\---

All of this had been her brother's idea.

“Hannah,” he said sitting at the end of her bed, “You can't just sit and sulk in your room every time we have company over.”

'Why? You do it.' Hannah wanted badly to snap back. She didn't. She just turned her gaze down to look at her big brother. The boy who had protected her all these years. He looked so sad to see her this way. That pulled at her heart strings. She hated to see Josh sad.

“I know being around the guys is hard for you, but maybe you should try it,” he continued, “Maybe it's the only way to get passed all this.”

Again Hannah bit back her remark about the hypocrisy of her brother, who never confronted any of his own problems, telling her she needed to confront her problem with their “friends.” She just continued to gaze at him silently. He rubbed his hand along her leg under her covers softly.

“It's been almost a year,” he stressed, “Don't you think it's about time you try and let this go? That you try to forgive them.”

“I don't know if I want to forgive them, Josh,” Hannah finally sighed sitting up in her bed. She felt tears in the corners of her eyes. She took off her glasses and quickly wiped them away. Josh reached his hand out to her and rubbed her shoulder.

“I know that,” he said, “What they did to you was awful. But they all feel really bad about it.”

She knew that. It was impossible for her not to know that. She still received apologies from Ashley and Emily whether she saw them. Matt couldn't even look her in the eye. Jess and Mike were the only two who seemed to have given up on trying to make amends with her.

The problem was it didn't make her feel better. It didn't change what they had done. It didn't change what had happened. She couldn't believe her friends, people who were supposed to care about her, could have been capable of doing that to her. Of tricking her into thinking that her crush liked her. Hiding under the bed and in the closet until she took off her clothes. Filming all her embarrassment.

She had felt so stupid. Stupid for thinking Mike would ever like her. Stupid for thinking she was anything other than boring, plain-Jane Hannah. Stupid for thinking some tattoo of a butterfly and a romantic cabin in the woods would make Mike see her any differently. Stupid for liking him and trusting him. Stupid, stupid Hannah who had no friends left in the world.

She was crying and Josh was hugging her in her bed. He rocked her like a parent would a child and he whispered soothing words to her as he did. He stroked her hair. Josh had been so much more a support to her in these last few years then her actual parents. Him and her and Beth. The three of them took care of each other.

“Look, I have an idea,” Josh said quietly as she pulled away, “Let's go back to the cabin this winter. Us and all the guys.”

“What?” Hannah asked almost in shock, “You want to go back there? After what they did?”

“Just hear me out,” Josh continued, “Dr. Hill is always telling me that if you're going to confront your demons then you should do it on your terms. Well what's more “on your terms” then bringing all those fuckers back to the scene of their crime?”

Hannah thought hard about that. Josh was using his debate voice. The one he used when he was about to be on a roll. She would have to fight hard to resist whatever he said to her. Josh could sell water to a drowning man and a heat lamp to a man in the desert.

“Make them confront what they did to you,” Josh continued, “Make them own up to it. Let them see how much it still bothers you. How much it still affects you. Don't let them hide from it.”

Hannah considered this. He was making a valid point. If they all went up to the lodge then her friends would be forced to face what they had done.

“Also they'll be stuck there,” Josh added, “They can't leave and you can say your piece and then lock yourself in your room if you don't like their response.”

But Hannah would also be stuck there with them. She couldn't leave if she wanted to. Josh seemed to take note of the gears turning in her head.

“Then once you think they've suffered enough,” he emphasized, “Or payed their dues you can decide if you want to forgive them or not.”

That sounded mean, which intrigued her more than Hannah would ever admit. She would never say she wanted to watch her friends squirm and wait to see if she'd forgive them. She would never say it, but it didn't mean she didn't feel it.

“Worse comes to worse you have to grit your teeth and bare it through an awkward weekend party.”

Hannah hated how convincing a talker her brother was. She hated how easy it was for him to lure her over to his way of thinking. She hated that he was a natural born con artist. She didn't want to let him know he had gotten to her. So she stayed silent. Based on the way he smiled though she knew that he knew she was thinking about it. He nodded as he stood up to leave the room.

“I'm going to start planning it out,” he decided, “You let me know if it's what you wanna do, okay?”

\---

Hannah had gone back and forth on the idea over the months that followed. Eventually she agreed with her brother out loud while she continued to debate about it internally. He promised her he'd make it a weekend that was worth it for her.

She and Sam arrived at the gate to her family's vacation home at around seven. They walked along the snowy path together slowly. Hannah dreaded every step that brought her closer to the lodge. Closer to her former friends. Closer to the site of her embarrassment last year.

As the old cable car station grew nearer Hannah hoped Josh would come through on his promise.


	2. Character Select

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're all here... whether she wants them to be or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set-up is hard to write. But I did it.
> 
> So I'm sure you noticed the tags changing. That is because some things in this were up in the air, but things are settled now. The relationships are figured out though, so they will no longer change.
> 
> Enjoy.

Once they got to the station for the cable car the first thing Hannah noticed was the bag left by itself on the bench. Sam walked up to it looking around as she did. Hannah stayed further back. She had adapted to be a bit more cautious over the last year. Sam turned to her and shrugged.

“I see Chris' bag, but I don't see Chris,” she said to Hannah the question in that clear. Where did he go? Hannah shrugged back. She didn't know. Before either girl could decide whether they should go search for him or not though a faint buzzing could be heard. Sam turned back to Chris' bag, back towards the source of the noise. Her eyebrows went up as she leaned over and reached for the outermost pocket and the phone tucked inside.

“His phone is going off,” she said her hand hovering near the device.

“So?” Hannah asked.

“Should we check it?” Sam asked back, “It could be important. Heck, it could be him calling it.”

Hannah didn't bother to ask Sam how if Chris' phone and bag were here could he be managing to call it. She shrugged again, waiting instead for Sam to choose. Finally Sam picked up the phone and held it in front of her face saying to Hannah as she did, “I'm just making sure it isn't urgent.”

Hannah's curiosity got the better of her and she ended up leaning over Sam's shoulder to see what she was looking at. Sam must have felt her presence because she tilted the screen so Hannah could see it better from her angle.

“Well, well look who it is,” Sam teased as they read the message together. 'Ashley: See u up there. :3' Sam leaned back with a laugh in her voice and a triumphant look on her face. It dropped the second she saw Hannah did not share her elation. Why should she? So Ashley and Chris liked each other. So what? Good for them.

“Hey nosy ladies,” the familiar voice of her brother's oldest friend greeted them. Hannah jumped and saw Sam do the same. They both turned around quickly to find Chris standing behind them smirking that know-it-all smirk of his. He leered over them being a least a foot taller than Sam and about half a foot taller than Hannah.

“Chris,” Sam breathed when she realized it was him and not some mad axeman come to chop them up.

“Did I ask you to take my messages for me, Sam?” Chris asked pointing to his phone still in her hand. Sam looked at the device before she handed it over to him quickly.

“It was buzzing,” Sam defended before nudging her best friend, “Right, Han?”

Hannah nodded meekly as she saw Chris slightly roll his eyes. She always liked Chris. When they were children she used to think she might marry him when they grew up. She never saw him that light after that time and was sure that Chris saw the Washington twins as sisters himself. But he was good to her and she appreciated him for it.

“Don't cover for her,” Chris said checking his phone. Hannah saw his eyes light up as he tried to hide his screen from their view. Sam was trying to keep from giggling as Chris' ears turned slightly red from his obvious embarrassment. She hated him a little. How happy he was to receive a text from his crush. Getting to be excited that she was up on the mountain top waiting for him. Hannah remembered feeling that in another life.

“Hannah will you get Chris, the cable car is coming,” Sam called back as she continued to the door. Chris gave Hannah a look as if he was insulted by the insinuation he needed to be babysat like a child. She smiled at little at the way he followed Sam in a huff as he put his phone away and grabbed his bag.

Hannah's own feet felt like they were made of lead as she went after Sam and Chris into the station to wait for the car. Each step took a huge amount of effort on her part. Chris and Sam were chatting about something she couldn't really hear a couple feet in front of her. Chris opened the door for both of them. It was mostly silent as they waited for the cable car. Sam slung an arm around Hannah to pull her into the car when it arrived.

“Coming?” she called to Chris. He sighed dramatically, made a joke about catching some 'z's' instead then he followed them into the car. He sat opposite them and the car lifted off almost immediately after he did. Sam looked gleeful and excited as they rode up. That wasn't surprising. Sam loved the outdoors.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Sam asked again as they went up. 

Hannah would be more embarrassed she asked at this moment but it was just Chris. He'd been around to see some of her most shameful moments in life. He caught her kissing a photo of Mike in the living room once. He didn't say anything to her (or to anyone) about it. He simply walked out awkwardly and left her alone.

“No, but it's a little late now, right?” Hannah answered crossing her arms over her chest and giving a shrug as if that was true. She could still leave. She could go back down the cable car and call a cab or something to take her home.

“I guess,” Sam sighed, “I just hope this was the right thing to do. Bringing everyone up here again...”

“We all came, didn't we?” Chris reminded looking right at Hannah, “That has to mean something.”

Hannah nodded and smiled at him. He smile back and gave her a goofy little wink. He was a such a great guy. Far too good of one for... 

No, that was a mean thought. She was probably least to blame for what happened last year. Sam sighed a worried sigh and Chris, maybe to try and cheer her up, launched into the familiar story of meeting her brother in third grade. Josh told it much better. It was a lot funnier when he told it.

Hanna gazed up at the mountain, panic and fear building in her stomach. Things had been okay so far and she hoped things would continue to go this smoothly.

\---

The door out of the cable car station was locked.

Chris, Sam and Hannah all proceeded to bang on it after it wouldn't open the first few times Chris tried the handle. Someone had to be on the other side and if not worse case scenario was Josh or Beth would come down to check in a little while. So the three of them squeezed together against the door to bang as if more than one of them was needed for that. Hannah heard Chris and Sam shout Jessica's name after a few seconds of doing this. Her heart sank hard like a rock. There was only one person on this mountain that she wanted to see less than Jessica Riley.

The door popped open and they three of them stumbled out, Chris whining as they did, “Thank god, one more moment in there and I would have chewed off my own leg.”

“Sick, Chris,” Sam complained and Hannah was ashamed to admit she giggled a bit at Chris' dramatics. It reminded her of Josh.

“Hey, I got a lot of meat on my bones,” Chris continued with another friendly wink at Hannah, “This is all muscle down here.”

“Right,” Sam responded also looking at Hannah with disbelief on her face. Jessica in all this time did nothing but look awkwardly to and away from Hannah. She didn't look sorry, but she didn't look quite comfortable either. Hannah didn't know what to say to her and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. After a moment Chris leaned forward and snatched the small black envelope that had been in her hand. He laughed as he leaned back with it.

“Hey,” Jess cried out as Chris lifted it out of her grasp.

“Chris,” Sam chastised. Hannah knew she should feel bad but she didn't. It was difficult to feel bad for Jessica after what happened.

“Sorry Jess, but as Han and Sam showed me a little earlier tonight other people's private property is my personal playground.”

Hannah sighed, she was annoyed at that, “Oh come on, it wasn't like Ashley sent you a text confessing her undying, passionate love for you.”

“Or nudes,” Sam added just as annoyed.

Chris chose to ignore them both in favor of reading Jess' letter. He tutted teasingly and then cooed in a mockingly high voice, “Looks like somebody has a crush on our good friend and dear class president, Micheal Munroe. And what sort of sizzling erotica is our Jessica capable of imaging? I wonder...”

Sam looked at Hannah, who was sure she'd just felt her heart stop beating at the mention of HIS name. Things had been going so well up until then. Awkward but not bad. Chris looked over at them a smile still plastered on his big goofy face. He must have seen her and she must have looked pretty awful too because it dropped when it became clear to him what he had done. He flushed red with deep shame and Jess at least had the decency to do the same. They were silent and none of them moved for a long time. They were waiting to see what she would do. She could feel it. Their eyes on her, holding their breath. She turned her face to the snow. She had nothing to say.

She heard the footsteps of Jessica as she surged forward and snatched the envelope from Chris saying, “You're a tool.”

“Tool and die, that's my motto,” Chris chimed trying to defuse the awkwardness with a bit of humor.

“You're such an idiot,” Jess breathed. Hannah felt Sam move even closer to her but she didn't touch her. Sam could tell she didn't want to be touched at that moment. She kept her eyes on the ground while the conversation continued.

“At least I don't write dirty letters to my best friend's boyfriend,” Chris replied but then laughed a bit, “Although knowing Josh, would probably just turn him on.”

Eww, gross. She was standing right there. Did he have to talk about her brother like that?

“Mike and Em split,” Jessica bit then as if she too remembered Hannah shyly added, “We're together.”

Just when Hannah thought the moment couldn't get anymore awkward too. She bit her lip because at this point she thought she might cry. From anxiety or from nerves, from her anger or from her sadness, from a bunch of other emotions she didn't quite understand. Sam was basically in her personal space. Sam hovered over her as if she might collapse and need to be carried the rest of the way to the lodge. Hannah tried to take a few deep breaths.

“Whoa,” she heard Chris say, “Drama.”

“Not really. Pretty clear cut actually,” Jess said sounding like she wanted this conversation to be over, “Em's out, I'm in.”

“We should get up to the lodge don't you think, Chris?” Sam cut in loudly taking a small step towards the other two so as not to get too far from her. Hannah looked up in time to see Chris just moving his eyes away from her and over to Sam with a nod.

“Yeah, I'm getting tired of all this nature and junk, anyway,” he agreed and turned around to head up the trail to the lodge. Sam waited for Hannah to follow after him. Then she followed behind. Jess did not go after them. She stayed where she was.

“You guys go ahead,” she called walking over to the bench by the station, “I'm just going to wait here for a bit. See who else is coming.”

Hannah had a pretty decent idea who she was talking about when she said that.

\---

They ran into him coming down the trail. The boy of her dreams. The boy she thought she had loved.

“Oh hey,” he greeted as soon as he saw them. Sam's hand came out and grabbed onto her wrist when they saw him. She wasn't that fragile. It bothered her that Sam was being this paranoid. Chris took the lead by walking up to him and holding out a hand in greeting.

“Hey, bro,” he said as Mike took his hand and they shared one of those weird guy handshakes. She saw Chris tilt his head back towards the trail and heard him say, “You know you're walking the wrong way.”

“Ah yeah, I left something down at the station. I was gonna go grab it,” Mike said looking passed Chris at her and Sam. Chris nodded. He looked good. Too good. Hannah wished he looked beaten up and hurt and everything else she felt when she saw him. Tired, worn out, stupid. She wanted him to look like a complete fool. She wanted him to be in pain. But he didn't look like he was in pain. He looked happy and carefree and so incredibly, unfairly handsome.

“Cool, then I guess we'll see you up there.”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed as he hurried passed Chris and kept on his way down the trail. He paused next to the two girls and smiled. His eyes were soft and warm. He looked at her with a great deal of affection in his features. He looked like he wanted to hug her, he wouldn't dare. She wished she could enjoy the look on his pleasant face, but she had learned not to trust it, “Hey Hannah, you look good. It's nice to see you.”

She didn't say anything. She looked away and nodded instead. She felt Sam's hand tighten on her arm. Then the two blondes were off again leading her back up the trail and away from Mike. Sam basically dragging her along. It was probably for the best. She wouldn't have been able to leave him herself.

Because Hannah Washington's heart had still started fluttering the moment she saw Micheal Munroe.

\---

She wasn't sure what she expected. She knew that they would all be there.

By they time the trio bumped into Emily leaning against a tree as if catching her breath Hannah should not have been surprised anymore. Maybe she thought they wouldn't really come despite her big brother telling her that they were all coming. Maybe she thought they would all ditch out at the last second and it would just be her, Chris, Josh, Sam and Beth up here tonight. Maybe she didn't really believe that her “friends” had the nerve to show their faces here.

Whatever it was she was wrong and they were indeed all here.

“Hey, Em,” Sam asked as they got closer to her, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine,” she breathed standing up straight, “I just needed to rest for a moment.”

She headed over to them with a bag far too large for a weekend trip. Chris pointed to it and in his usual gentlemanly manner asked, “Need some help?”

“Yeah that would be great,” Emily said handing the bag over to him, “I'll never understand why you're family didn't just build the lodge right where the cable car ends, Han?”

She said it with a smile as if trying to be friendly. This is how Emily always was with her. Reaching out an olive branch of friendship. She was probably the one most sorry about what happened the year prior. She waited for Hannah to respond her smile slowly drifting off as she did.

“It wouldn't be as pretty up here, I don't think,” Hannah replied trying to take Josh's advice. Trying to move passed what happened.

“Still,” Emily continued relief apparent in her voice, “The walk is brutal. Especially in designer heels.”

“And it would impossible for you not to wear brand label boots right, Em?” Sam teased as they began to walk back up the trail. Sam walked between Hannah and Emily as Chris lagged behind most likely regretting his offer to help Emily with her bags.

“Don't be silly,” Emily responded, “It's not impossible. I'm still not going to do it, but that doesn't make it impossible.”

Sam laughed a little and Hannah smiled thinking that this could work. Emily was trying to be nice, and Hannah could try too. She and Beth were so close. Hannah owed it to her twin sister to try to be okay with her friend. The three girls continued their walk and Sam felt confident enough when they reach the bridge to finally drop Hannah's wrist.

“Chris, come on. You're falling behind,” Emily called back as they all walked over the bridge together. She faced Sam and Hannah after that and sighed, “What are men good for if they can't even carry bags for you anymore?”

Hannah was upset with herself, but she laughed.

\---

Getting up to the cabin was like a breath of fresh air because right at the gate waiting with a big smile was her brother. It has only been a week but it felt like a whole year since she saw him last. She ran to hug him tightly. She didn't even care if it made either of them look stupid. Josh caught her in his arms and hugged her back just as tight.

“Hey sis,” he said once they let go and he pet her hair gently. Everything was better. Josh was with her. Josh made everything better. He was her hero. She hugged him again surprised by how much she had missed him.

“Jeez, Hannah,” Josh complained pulling her off, “It's not like I've been away in Europe for months. You saw me five days ago.”

“I know,” she answered, “And I still missed you, Joshy.”

Sam and Emily giggled at her pet name for him and Josh rolled his eyes, “Why don't you just go dig out my naked baby pictures and make this an embarrass Josh in front of every hot girl in school party?”

“Oh,” Emily laughed as he opened the gate and they all followed him in. Chris having finally caught up with the rest of them, “I bet you had a cute baby butt.”

“Well of course I did,” Josh added leading them over to the steps of the lodge and slapping his own ass, “You think this kind of perfection happens overnight?” 

The sight of Beth leaning on the rail made seeing Ashley a little easier on her. Hannah wished she could say it did the same for seeing Matt who was on Ashley's other side. He looked away as soon as she was in his view. He got up off the steps and wandered away.

“Hey, guys,” Josh called as they all came forward, “Get up here alright?”

“More or less,” Ashley responded, “It's good to see you. Especially you, Hannah. I feel like I don't see you ever.”

Hannah fought her urge to say, 'That's because I don't want to see you.' Instead she nodded as her sister came forward to give her a hug. They squeezed tightly.

“I'm happy you came,” Beth whispered to her, “Remember I got your back.”

“I know,” Hannah answered as Beth pulled back and then slipped out of her arms to resettle herself into Sam's waiting outstretched hug.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Sam purred pulled Beth in very close.

“Hey you,” Beth replied. Sam rubbed their noses together in a Eskimo kiss then she kissed Beth many times before they were both giggling something awful. Hannah walked away feeling awkward from the romantic display. Chris had dropped Emily's bag off to the side to go after Josh to the door. Emily was checking said bag as if she didn't trust he had properly handled it. Hannah stopped to stand by Ashley.

Ashley smiled in her hazy, dazed way. She was already high. That should not have bothered Hannah. Josh and his friends smoked all the time. But maybe if she hadn't been so stoned last year she would not have let their “friends” pull their mean prank. Everything in moderation, right?

Once again it seemed like neither knew what to say to the other, but Ashley seemed completely content to just hang out in silence, which Hannah didn't mind either. It was less awkward than trying to force conversation with someone who had never really been her friend to begin with. She was Josh's friend. Hannah always thought she was a cool and fun girl, but they didn't ever hang out, just the two of them.

“Yo, Beth,” she heard Josh call, “The lock is iced!”

Her sister sighed in annoyance and called to her, “Hannah, can you come here and take the defroster over to Josh?”

Beth with Sam hanging off of her every step of the way came forward and Hannah met her halfway to retrieve the device she took out of her bag. Then she turned around and walked back over to the steps to bring it to Josh. When she got back over there Chris had come back down the stairs and taken her spot by the railing. Josh leaned as far down the steps as he could without actually walking down them to grab the tool from her. She heard a giggle from her side and turned to look at Chris and Ashley.

“I'm good,” she heard Ashley say and saw her lean far off the step towards Chris, “But I think I could use some time curled up by the fire.”

“Yeah, that does sound pretty nice,” Chris basically stuttered. Hannah rolled her eyes and headed away from them towards Emily by her bag. She hoped she hadn't sounded that stupid when she was all dopey over Mike. She hoped she hadn't been so disgustingly obvious. She hoped she didn't stare at him with the same glossy, lust filled eyes that Chris and Ashley were gazing at one another with. It was too bad she knew that she absolutely had.

Emily was sitting on her bag at this point and Hannah smiled at her as she reached her. Things had been the easiest with her thus far. She felt the most comfortable with Emily. If she was going to do this she might as well do it. Emily was the best place to start.

“I can't believe you made Chris carry your bag all the way up here,” Hannah said trying to sound nice.

“I didn't make him,” Emily corrected, “He offered and I took him up on it.”

“You haven't changed at all, have you?” she asked with a bit of a laugh. She was a little mad at herself for enjoying the other girl's company so much. Maybe it was just because she was the most sorry about what had happened.

“Have you changed much?” Emily asked rather than answering her. Hannah didn't answer. She felt that she had changed quite a bit. Maybe more over the last year than ever before in her life. It was a bit hard to learn you couldn't trust your “friends.”

She away and noticed that Matt, who was standing off by himself near the trees, was watching the girls. He looked away as soon as she faced him though. Matt looked like he was trying to memorize the snow on the ground with how intensely he stared at it. His body was stiff, his normally friendly face was cold and he made no movement to join any of the people around him in their conversations. Emily followed her gaze and nodded when her eyes also landed on Matt.

“He can get weird around everybody,” Emily answered her unasked question, “He and I almost started dating a few weeks back, but he shut it down. Probably for the best. He doesn't come around much to hang out anymore.”

Hannah had been wrong. It seemed like the person who felt the most guilty about what happened to her last year was Matt. For some reason she felt bad about that. She didn't think he should be as bothered by as he seemed to be. It didn't seem fair to her.

But then she remembered seeing him there on the other side of the room. With his stupid selfie stick and his camera recording her. Jessica and Emily could be cruel sometimes. It was just in their nature. Mike and Ashley, they weren't really her friends. They were Josh's friends.

Matt on the other hand. He knew. He knew how she felt about Mike. He knew so many of her secrets. They had shared so many laughs together. They commiserated over their mutual hopeless pining for people who may never look their way. Matt was her friend. Her friend in the absolute and complete definition of the word. And he had betrayed her. She never even found out why. Maybe this weekend would be her chance.

“Door's open,” Hannah heard Josh cry out. The small groups all wandered over to him, once Hannah had wandered away from her Matt went over to Emily to help her with her bag. Chris and Ashley were on their feet and heading in after Josh first. Hannah caught up with Beth and Sam twittering together like mad and went in with them. She heard Matt lugging Emily's bag in behind her. The whole group trudged their way inside. Hannah saw her friends drop their bags and start to undo their coats.

“It's nice to be warm and inside,” she heard Ashley chime up. Josh wandered over to the fire to try and get it started. Hannah drifted over to watch him work. Beth and Sam settled themselves on the stairs, Chris and Ashley nearby as Emily and Matt went over to one couch. The quiet conversations continued.

“What's up party people?” Mike's voice called followed closely by a “Hey.” from what was obviously Jessica's voice.

“Hey man,” Josh laughed looking just passed her at where presumably the two new arrivals were, “Make yourself at home.”

“Will do,” Mike called and Hannah saw him and Jess sit on the other couch in her peripheral vision. They looked like they were getting cozy. Hannah looked over at Emily to see the other girl roll her eyes at the display. She stood up and walked over to Hannah and Josh.

“So gross,” she complained and Hannah wondered if she was trying to win her sympathy or something like that. Emily looked about half a second from continuing on a rant against Jess when Beth from out of nowhere marched into the middle of the room. She had everyone's attention right away. Beth could command respect like that. In a way Hannah never would be able to.

“Okay,” Beth said clearing asserting that she was the one in charge, “Before everyone gets too comfy let's figure out sleeping arrangements huh?”

“We have three guests rooms, one is on this floor, one is upstairs and one is down by the cinema room,” she continued even though nobody had answered her, “Then there's our parents' room, and our rooms.”

“And the guest cabin,” Josh called having gotten his fire going enough and was standing on Hannah's other side. Beth looked over at him and Josh wiggled his eyebrows at her. Hannah got the feeling this was in reference to a discussion she had not been around for.

“Yes,” Beth reluctantly added, “There is also the guest cabin, but it's a bit of a hike that way.”

That sounded like Beth was trying to deter their friends from wanting to spend the weekend up there. But there weren't enough beds for all of them to stay in the lodge, was there? Even if they doubled up in some of the rooms. Hannah tried to figure it out in her head.

“So why don't you and Sam take it?” Josh continued, “You both like hiking right?”

Beth blushed and glanced back at Sam before she answered, “Well yes, but I have a room.”

“So?” Josh pushed on, “We're all friends here, you can trust all these guys not to mess with any of your stuff if they crash in there.”

Beth did not look like she bought that statement and Hannah didn't blame her, though neither of them was going to say it out loud with all the others in the room. Everybody was only half paying attention at this point, bored by something that didn't involve them. Jess and Mike were making out or close to it behind Beth and Emily had gone back to sit by Matt. The rest were just quietly listening.

“And,” Josh conceded, “If you're that worried then I'll take your bed and Chris can have my room for the weekend. I don't mind any foreign body fluids in my sheets.”

He winked and finger-gun clicked at Chris and Ashley after he said that. They both went bright red.

Sam finally stood up and joined them in the center of the floor, “That's a sweet offer, but I think Beth and I both want to stay here at least for tonight.”

Hannah could tell that her sister was slightly disappointed by what Sam said. You don't spend you life with someone and not know them at least a enough to see subtle changes in their face. Sam's eyes had flickered over to Hannah while she said it too. She only said that because she was worried about her best friend. A strange combination of guilt and anger settled in her stomach. Had her sister really hoped Sam would want to take off to another building halfway across the mountain with her? Did Sam think Hannah was so incapable that she couldn't handle them going off for couple time together? Which of these was worse? Forcing them to stay here to look after her like she was made of glass or letting them think it was okay to abandon her in her time of need?

“I think you should go,” Hannah ended up saying, “I think it would nice for you two to get some time alone together.”

“Really Hannah?” Sam whispered to her with eyes burning into her looking both hopeful and worried. Hannah gave a firm nod.

“Yeah,” she said feeling angry that they were actually considering taking her up on this, didn't they get that she was just being nice?

“Great so it's settled,” Josh said tossing Sam the set of keys to the guest cabin, which she caught with her amazing reflexes, “You two take the guest cabin. Hannah will take her room, Chris will be in mine, I'll take Beth's.”

“Jess, Mike,” Josh called passed Beth and Sam who were starting to look a little giddy, “You two can take guest room upstairs, okay?”

Mike made a noise of approval and as if that was all either of them needed soon both Jess and Mike were hurrying passed Chris and Ashley up the wooden stairs to find the guest room upstairs. Hannah had a feeling it wasn't to put their stuff away either. Luckily for Hannah the room was on the opposite side of the house from hers.

Josh laughed and Beth turned to Emily rolling her eyes as she did, “Em, you can take my parents' room if you want. And Matt you and Ashley can decide who's going downstairs and who's staying up here.”

“I'll take the downstairs one,” Matt said and it was the first thing Hannah heard him say the entire time that had been there. It caught her off guard. She looked at him in time to see him slinging his bag onto his shoulder and racing downstairs to put it away. Emily stood looked like she wanted to go after him before she dragged her bag off to their parents' room, which was on this floor. Hannah wondered what was going on between them.

“I'm going to put my bag in the room on this floor then,” Ashley said wandering out of the living room as well. Chris walked over and set his bag by the couch. Hannah noticed that his eyes stayed on Ashley until she was completely gone from the room.

“You don't want to put your stuff away, dude?” Josh asked jabbing his thumb towards the stairs.

Chris glanced up the stairs and then said, “I think I'll wait on it. Give those two some time.”

Josh laughed again and shaking his head he walked passed Chris towards the kitchen, “Then help me get a couple frozen pizza in the oven. I'm fucking starving.”

“Can we bake while we bake?” Chris asked following after Josh, “I could use a high to warm me up.”

Once it was just the three of them Sam and Beth both gave Hannah a look full of pity and worry as they all stood there. Sam fiddled with the keys Josh had given her. Beth crossed her arm and leaned towards her sister.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Beth asked looking like she wanted to take a step towards Hannah.

“Of course,” she said, 'No of course not, stay here with me, don't leave me with these people.'

“We just don't feel right leaving you like this?” Sam added. Speaking for them both as Beth nodded. Oh what a perfect couple they made.

“It's not like you guys are going to be gone all weekend,” Hannah answered forcing a smile, “You'll be back for breakfast tomorrow and you'll be here until night after that. I can handle sleeping by myself.”

They didn't look convinced which was good. She didn't want them to look convinced. Why weren't the two of them fighting harder against this?

“Okay,” Beth agreed, “We'll go. If you're going to be okay.”

As Sam and Beth each gave her a warm loving hug then headed off towards the back door 

“Besides,” she heard herself say as they left out the door to head up to the guest cabin for the night, “Josh will be here. He'll look out for me.”

Hannah could not have known the true meaning behind her words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from here things will deviate from canon. Also please keep in mind some thing are different because Hannah and Beth did not go missing. This had an effect on things.
> 
> Ugh trying here people.


	3. Tutorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is supposed to be the easy part...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am working on Dependents promise! Inspiration for this came faster though.
> 
> My poor baby girl Hannah. She's trying. Also pour one out for Ashley guys. You'll get why by the end of this.
> 
> Jess is not meant to be a villain in this either, I'm trying to emulate how she is in the game.
> 
> Enjoy

Hannah made her way into the kitchen after Beth and Sam were gone. At least she had Josh. Josh was her hero. He would always look out for her. No girl in the world was more important to Josh than his two little sisters.

She wandered in to see him and Chris opening the double oven to put in as many frozen pizzas as the two boys could fit on the racks. She leaned against the counter and watched them as they laughed about something she didn't have context for. Once they were done with the task of getting dinner for them all ready Chris took a seat at the counter. Josh went to get the other party essentials ready. Booze and pot. 

Hannah made a move to join them, but before she could her attention was pulled away by the kitchen door opening and as stealthily as possible Ashley creeping in. Hannah noticed she had removed her large parka and her hoodie. She was wearing a tight red mid drift shirt with a sheer black undershirt covering what would have been her exposed belly. Her lock and key belly ring glimmered in the light through her shirt. Combined with her booty shorts and black tights it made an oddly sexual picture. Ashley didn't normally dress this way. She took a breath as if stealing her nerves as she walked towards the guys.

“Hey, Chris,” she said stopping only inches away from him. “What's up?”

Josh checked her out before he smiled over at Chris who did an honest to god double take upon seeing Ashley dressed the way she was. Hannah rolled her eyes and walked around the couple to head into the kitchen behind her brother. She needed a drink.

“We're making food,” Chris answered staring at his phone in what must have been a deliberate attempt not to look at Ashley. His fingers weren't even moving.

“Oh, cool,” Ashley said leaning so close to him she was almost touching him, “I just came out here to get my bag from Josh. I was gonna toke in my room for a bit.”

“Okay,” Chris said with a nod looking at her for half a second then turning away again. Ashley leaned around as if trying to get him to pay attention to her before she continued talking.

“Yeah, so I'll be smoking while I wait for dinner. In my room. Alone,” she said with an emphasis even Hannah didn't miss. Chris nodded for a second time and when he didn't say anything Ashley kept on talking, “Unless you want to come smoke with me.”

“I just smoked like minute ago, so...” Chris answered. Ashley gave a sigh and a light, “Oh.”

Hannah looked over at Josh and saw him rubbing his forehead with his one hand roughly as if annoyed. She continued her search for something to drink wondering if he took everything alcoholic out already. Ashley cleared her throat before she spoke again.

“Well then I'll just take my stash and go,” she said, “It's been a long trip. I might lay down. In my bed.”

“Oh, alright,” Chris said with a little concern, “You want us to come get you when the food's ready?”

Hannah glanced over at them and saw Ashley grab onto his arm with a wide smile, “Yes, yes, I would. You should come and get me when the food is ready. That's a really sweet offer.”

“Cool,” he said with a big dopey grin on his face, “We'll be sure to ring your dinner bell then.”

Ashley pulled away from him looking a little disappointed he didn't agree to come with her when she asked him to. Josh passed a bag of already rolled up joints over to her from the other side of the counter as Hannah finally located a bottle of wine on the other counter. She took them happily and then smiled over at Chris one last time as she backed out of the room.

“Well I'm heading out,” she said, “Let me know if you wanna hang out. I'll just be in my room. So you know where I am. If you change your mind.”

“See you for dinner,” Chris replied with a small wave and Hannah saw Ashley's face fall into a frown right before she left the room. She headed to the far cabinet to fetch a wine glass. She really hated to think she had ever looked that desperate. At least Ashley was making herself look slutty for a guy who actually wanted to sleep with her. Not some jerk who wouldn't ever look her way twice. Hannah turned to look at the guys when she heard a loud bang.

“I should punch you,” Hannah heard her brother scold. Chris' hand was pressed to his head as if he had been hit with something. Hannah set her glass down and decided to focus there. “That was physically painful to watch.”

“What?” Chris asked confused. Josh groaned loudly. Then he put on a high pitched voice to mock the way he thought girls talked.

“I'll just be in my room. Alone. In my bed. If you want to come with me, Chris,” he mocked before he dropped the girlish tone completely, “And fuck me into the mattress.”

“You don't know that's what she meant,” Chris sighed. Josh sighed as well rolling his eyes.

“Oh ho I know it's what she meant, my friend,” Josh assured him, “She couldn't have been more clear. Unless she came in here, stripped down to her panties and gave you lap dance.”

“What's your point, Josh?” Chris said looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“My point is,” Josh stressed, “She basically gave you the go ahead. So why are you still sitting out here with me when you could be in there with her eating your fill of that fine ass?”

“It's not that simple, man,” Chris whined, “If Ashley and I... it might just get super awkward. And what if it isn't any good. Then we're not ever going to be able to look at each other the same way. Our whole friendship will get weird. It will be a huge mess.”

“Okay, okay,” Josh replied, “Counterpoint. What if it's awesome? Huh? Then... then you are looking at the possibility of getting to bang Ashley on the regular. Think about how worth it all those study hours you two put in are going to be when you can reward yourself afterward with a little 69ing. Think about how great texting her throughout the day is going to get once she's sending you naughty selfies instead of internet memes. Think about all the time you already spend with Ashley but you get to do it naked.”

Hannah saw the way Chris' face and ears lit up red and his eyes glossed over as he considered what her big brother was suggesting. She took a long sip of her wine as Chris licked his lips, lost in his NC-17 rated fantasies about Ashley. She almost thought Josh had convinced him as she walked over to stand by her brother's side, but he snapped out of it and sighed.

“It's not worth the risk, dude,” Chris answered sadly, “She means too much to me... as my friend.”

Josh made a gagging noise before flinging out his arms dramatically, “Man the fuck up, Chris. If I were you I would march in there, bend Ashley onto her hands and knees and split her in t- Hannah, how long have you been standing here?”

Hannah set her drink on the counter, “I got here right before Ashley came in.”

“Oh,” Josh said and Hannah saw his face turn dark red, “Well, don't sneak up on me like that. There are certain things in this world that you are not meant to hear.”

“Josh, I know about se-”

“Ah ah ah ah,” Josh cut her off, “No, no you don't. Never even say that word around me, okay?” Josh said it with the kind of finality she couldn't argue against. She picked up her drink and wandered away from him. It was strange how Josh who had been teasing Beth while sending her off to the guest cabin with Sam, presumably so the two of them could have sex, was acting like Hannah couldn't even handle to hear him say the word. She and Beth were the exact same age. If one wanted to get technical Hannah was a few minutes older than Beth. How could he see one as a young woman but the other as still a little girl?

She picked up her wine glass and walked away. Hero or not, Josh seemed to see her as burden to the very adult conversation he wanted to have with Chris. If that's what he wanted then she could give that to him. She had made it to the door when in through it walked Matt of all people. He almost jumped at the sight of her. He didn't relax even after he realized who it was. It was maybe the first time in a year the two of them were face to face.

“Hey,” he said quietly his eyes averted. Hannah cleared her throat.

“Hey,” she responded. She made a move to walk around him because Matt had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her tonight. Then she heard him speak up.

“I was going to take a walk out back for bit. Do you wanna maybe come with me?”

Hannah turned to look at him and without thought the next words out of her mouth were, “The last time I went out there isn't exactly my best memory.”

“Right,” Matt said as if scolding himself, “Right of course, that was... that was dumb. I'm dumb.”

“You aren't dumb, Matt,” Hannah said suddenly feeling bad, then she took a breath. She was meant to be trying to mend friendships this weekend. Or trying to get her say in. Or something. The point was she was not meant to be hiding from them. This weekend was about facing her demons. Facing her so-called “friends.”

“Let me get my coat,” Hannah added heading out to the living room to retrieve her jacket. Matt smiled, but it looked awkward and a little forced. She finished her wine because she needed the courage before she slipped her coat on and headed back to the kitchen. Matt was waiting by a door at the back for her. She set her glass on the counter by Chris and Josh back on whatever conversation she had interrupted. She pushed a smile onto her face and went to meet the other guy and head outside for an evening walk.

\---

“I forgot just how open it is up here,” Matt said after they had been walking in silence for awhile and had made it a good distance from the lodge.

“I guess it's never really felt all that big to me,” Hannah commented, “We used to spend the Christmas season up here every year. Summers too, before we all got into high school.”

“I'll bet this place is beautiful in the summer,” Matt replied. It was nothing but small talk. They were talking like strangers, not old friends. Nothing about it was comfortable. And soon the talking stopped.

She wanted to ask him why he had done it. Why had he taken part in that cruel prank the year before? Why after everything they had been through together? She couldn't muster up the courage to though. She wasn't sure it was conversation she could have yet. She wasn't sure she would like what he had to say about it. She felt like this one was the hardest. It shouldn't be done this early.

They continued to walk, their feet crunching in the snow softly. They drifted closer together to share their body heat. At one point she shivered and Matt made a move to put his arm around her. Then he didn't do it. The old Matt would have. The old Matt would have held her close to keep her safe and warm and make her feel loved. This Matt would not. And she didn't want him to, except that she really kinda did want him to.

“You know I'm sorry right?” he said out of nowhere “About what happened? About hiding in the closet with my camera and filming it? I don't know what I was thinking. Well I know what I was thinking, but it was stupid. I'm stupid. Stupid and sorry.”

Hannah should have expected that. She wasn't ready for it though. They were far away from the lodge by this point. She couldn't just turn away from him and head into her room. They were stuck out in the woods together. This had been a bad idea.

“I know,” she answered. She wanted to tell him he wasn't stupid. She hated when Matt called himself names like that. She didn't have it in her to be concerned about his feelings though.

“I was being so stupid,” he continued to degrade himself, “I just wanted her to notice me. I would have done anything she asked. You know how crazy I was about...”

Hannah looked away from his eyes. She knew. His Micheal Munroe was Jessica Riley.

“It's not an excuse,” he said coming to a stop and she stopped a few steps after him, “I knew how much it would hurt you and I did it anyway. Because Jessica asked me to. And here we all are a year later and she's with Mike, not me. So I hurt one of my best friends and got nothing out of it. Not that hurting you would have been worth it if she had decided to date me but still...”

Hannah wasn't looking at him. She didn't want to admit she understood the place he was coming from. How could she admit that had it been Mike who asked her to film Matt while he undressed for Jess that she probably would have said yes? That her immature crush on Mike would have convinced her to do anything he wanted her to.

But that wasn't fair. What Matt did to her was wrong and she wanted to be mad at him. She had a right to be mad at him. She didn't want to think she would have done the same thing in his place because the thing he had done to her was too terrible. She wasn't a terrible person. Was she?

Matt apparently wasn't done however as he moved into her space. He was closer to her in height than the other guys were. He was one of the shorter guys and she was one of the taller girls. This made them stand almost eye to eye with each other. Their faces almost perfectly lined up. Matt swallowed hard.

“I miss you, Hannah,” he said leaning even closer to her, “More than I ever thought I would.”

They stayed close for a long time, staring at one another.

“I miss you too,” she finally answered. A timid smile broke out on Matt's face and he reached out to put his arms around her in a hug. He pressed her tightly to him and Hannah felt herself return their embrace snuggling into his chest as she did. He was as warm as she remembered him being though his face had caught a chill from being outside. Matt was made for hugging. He reached up and pet her hair a bit and then stopped thinking better of it. Then finally leaning away from her he smiled.

“Food's probably going to be done soon, ready to head back?”

Thinking she might cry, she nodded.

\---

Emily had joined Chris and Josh in the kitchen when they returned. She was by the fireplace with her own glass of wine laughing at the two as they attempted to get the food to the table with as little incident as possible. Hannah feeling lighter after her talk with Matt grabbed a second glass of wine for herself and sat down by her on the couch. She saw Emily shoot a glance at Matt and give him a smile like she was proud of him. He returned it and then with his boots off went to help the other guys.

“He finally talk to you?” Emily asked once Hannah sat down with her. She nodded. Even though not much had been said, she didn't want to share what had transpired between her and Matt. It was private. Emily didn't push however. She just gave Hannah an equally proud smile and nodded. She curled her legs up in the couch and Hannah did the same. Then she held her glass out.

“To making amends,” Emily said brightly. Hannah clinked her glass with Emily's loudly.

“To making amends,” she agreed. Emily wanted her to be better. Genuinely. Hannah could see it in her eyes when she spoke to her. It wasn't perfect, but it was okay. She could see herself being friends with Emily and Matt again at least. That was something. The two girls drank their wine together in comfort.

Hannah's good mood bubble was popped when the door to the kitchen bust open and in came Jessica... wearing only Mike's shirt. Well she probably had on underwear too, but the shirt went to her thighs so no one could see it. Mike followed her in an almost equal state of undress wearing a pair of sweats and his undershirt. Emily rolled her eyes away from the sight and Hannah couldn't blame her.

“Oh my god,” Jess cried, “I am sooooo hungry.”

“Yeah,” Josh teased when he saw them, “You two work up an appetite?”

Mike winked as he and Jess gathered around the table with the others, “Oh, you know it.”

Hannah heard Josh laugh at that while shaking his head. Though Matt for his part did not seem amused and Chris was too busy cutting pizza to really pay attention. So at least they were alone in the after sex buzzing levity.

“Josh, you should go get Ash,” Chris piped up while he worked on handing out plates. Josh rolled his eyes at his best friend.

“Or you could bring some slices for both of you into her room, instead?” Josh replied suggestively.

Chris sighed getting up with a plate of pizza in each hand. Josh pat him on the back as he left, but he looked like he was doing it more to shut Josh up then to fulfill any carnal urges he might be harboring. Matt came up right behind him with a slice in each hand as well. He stopped by the fireplace though to hand them over to Emily and Hannah in turn.

“I figured you guys wouldn't want to eat at the table,” he said before he headed back over there to get his own dinner. Josh was scooping a large amount of supreme pizza into his mouth. Jess was taking tiny little nibbling bites of her pizza. She sat on Mike's lap despite their table having more than enough room for both of them to have a chair. Matt sat at the far end away from them, closer to the two girls as they all ate and conversations sprang up around the room.

“I can't believe Jess and Mike started dating,” Hannah found herself whispering to Emily, “Why would they do that to you?”

Emily smirked but it was sad and a little pained, “You probably think it's what I deserve, don't you?”

Hannah wished she was a good enough person to say, 'no.'

Emily almost laughed, “It kinda puts the whole thing last year in perspective. He wasn't worth all that stupid drama between you and me. I mean he dumped me for my best friend.”

“I can't imagine how it would feel if my boyfriend left me for Sam,” Hannah said trying to relate even though with Sam being a lesbian that would never happen. “Or really any of my friends. I guess that's what you were afraid of last year.”

“He led you on,” Emily continued, “I know he did. Having girls flirt with him. It strokes his stupid ego. It was just as much him as it was you and I took it all out of you like he was innocent in it.”

Hannah glanced back worried that Mike or Jess might hear them, but they were too lost in each other and their post-coital glow. Emily didn't seem to care if they did hear her though. She wasn't trying all that hard to keep their conversation quiet.

“You didn't deserve it, Hannah,” she confessed, “I'm really very sorry.”

And Hannah believed her.

“Well,” she said moving a little closer to Emily on the couch, “Now we can be miserable about Mike together, right?”

“Ugh ew no,” Emily sighed dramatically, “Let's instead bond over how we're both too good for him and Jess is the one stuck dealing with the man-child.”

Hannah laughed. They both knew it wasn't true. They were both still terribly hung up on Mike in a way that wasn't fair to either of them. But at least laughing about it together it wasn't as hard.

“What are you two so giddy about?” Matt finally asked pulling his chair closer to them. Emily looked back at him with one of her smirks.

“Hannah here was just telling me about how you grovelled for her forgiveness and she had to give in because she was afraid you might actually cry,” Emily quipped. Matt looked affronted and Hannah kept on laughing. She nodded along as if that was the case. She tried to pull a serious face, but her smile would not stop breaking through. Unlike her brother and sister, she had never mastered her poker face. Matt hopped off his chair and sank in-between them on the couch with his pizza and beer.

“I think you need a babysitter,” he said looking from one to the other, “I'm worried what might happen if you're left on your own for too long.”

“Who us?” Hannah whined, “Matt we're angels. You can trust us to behave.”

“Nope, I don't think I can,” he answered, “Now who wants my olives. I hate them.” 

Sharing pizza, drinking wine and laughing with Matt and Emily had Hannah starting to feel like maybe this could all work.

\---

Josh had made some mixed drinks for Mike and Jess. It wasn't long until after that both of them were stumbling back out of the room. They were giggling and sharing kisses as they headed out the door and presumably made their way back to the guest room upstairs. Once they were gone he sat in the chair Matt had abandoned and smiled at the others. Being the good host he was he pointed to Matt offering, “You want a drink too? You know I make the best ones.”

“Ah, I mean sure why not,” Matt answered. Josh then turned to Emily with an equally broad smile.

“What about you, Em?” he asked, “Can I interest you in a drink or a toke? You and Han seem to have blown through that first bottle pretty quickly.”

“I'm good on drinking I think,” she answered, “I wouldn't mind a bone though.”

Josh hopped up and was off to fetch their requests. Hannah wanted to ask her brother either for a drink or smoke herself, but knew he would refuse both. He preferred it when Hannah stuck to wine when the group was partying. She usually had to be sneaky about drinking harder stuff. It wasn't like Josh could tell her what to do. He just got worried when she drank hard stuff and she didn't like to make him worry too much. Smoking on the other hand was always out.

He returned with a large cup for Matt and a joint for Emily which he lit for her. He had brought a new bottle of wine over for her too. He poured her a glass. This was when Hannah noticed that her brother was sober. He did not have a drink for himself and he did not smell like he had smoked either. He was never sober during parties. She felt a warm glow overtake her heart when she realized he must be doing it for her. He had been passed out drunk last year so he was probably trying to stay clear headed for her. Her brother was the best.

“I wonder why Chris or Ashley haven't come back to hang out,” Matt wondered aloud after a moment. Josh smiled like a devil and winked. Emily was about halfway through her joint.

“Oh I have a pretty good guess as to why,” he laughed. Emily rolled her eyes and stood. She wobbled a little as well. Hannah didn't think they had drank that much.

“Well I'm going to bed then,” she called putting out her weed cigarette as she left and pocketing it, “That hit me hard. I'm tired.”

“Same,” Matt groaned as he got up also. He followed Emily out of the room. He waved back calling, “Night Josh. Night Hannah.”

Josh slid onto the couch with Hannah as they watched the last of their friends leave the room. With a smile he reached out for her and pat her head. She leaned into him and hummed with joy. He relaxed and after a moment asked her, “So?”

“It's going alright,” she admitted. Josh gave her a look that said, 'I told you so.' He didn't say it aloud though. He knew the subject was too sensitive. Hannah sighed a little.

“They're all really sorry,” she added, “Well most of them are anyway.”

“They are,” he agreed. Hannah felt really bad because she knew how hard her brother had worked on this weekend, but she had to be honest with him.

“I'm still not sure it's enough though,” she said, “I mean it's a start, but I don't know. It still feels hard.”

Josh shifted his arm to wrap around her and pulled her into a tight hug. “I know it is. But don't worry. I'm going to do my best to make this easier on you, sis.”

“Thanks Josh,” she said smiling up at him, “It really means a lot to me.”

He smiled back down at her. Her protector and her superhero. Her Joshy. 

Then he stood up and pulled her to her feet. She didn't wobble nearly as much as all of her friends had. She felt weird about that. She was always the group's lightweight. How could they all be more affected than she was by their drinking and smoking? She pushed it out of her mind. She was too tired to think about it.

“Come on,” Josh said leading her from the room, “Let's get to sleep.”

She leaned on her brother for support as he brought her out of the room and up the stairs. The house was very quiet. Almost creepily quiet. Even with everyone in separate rooms she would have expected to hear a little bit of noise. By the time she was at her bedroom door and Josh had turned away to let her sleep it occurred to her that Jess and Mike were on this floor. They certainly hadn't been acting like they were going to sleep when they left either. Yet she couldn't hear them at all.

She climbed into her bed deciding the whole house must have been asleep.

\---

Hannah woke up to a banging on her door.

She was startled out of her bed. She didn't want to investigate it at first. She feared it might be another mean joke being played by her "friends." Or an animal loose in the lodge. Or a murderer out for blood.

Eventually she mustered up enough courage to get out from under her covers and check out the door. She put on her slippers and padded down her small flight of stairs. She gripped the handle tightly and counted to five before she swung the door open quickly.

No one was on the other side.

For a minute she thought nothing was there but just as she went to close the door again she looked at the floor and saw an envelope there. It was one of those large ones people mailed things in. Across the front scrawled in cursive were the words, “To Hannah.”

She lifted it up off the ground and sat on her steps. She considered not opening it for awhile. She shook it but it made very little noise. She felt it and found whatever was inside was flat and hard and a similar shape to the envelope. Curiosity finally getting the best of her, she opened it and taking a deep breath she reached her hand in.

An iPad or something like it. 

Placing the envelope down Hannah flipped the device over and pressed the home button. The electronic booted up and on the screen lit up. A number was in the corner. There was a button on the screen allowing her to switch between different cameras. She figured that out by pressing it and seeing the words near the bottom change from “Camera 1” to “Camera 2” and so on. There was nothing on any of the cameras at the time as if they were still off. The number began to grow and soon she figured out that more people than just her were watching this. Though they didn't seem to have the same control she did. When a camera finally blinked on she saw a person getting up as if they had been laying knocked out on the ground.

No, not a person. Matt. She switched to the next camera to see Chris and Ashley. The next showed her Emily and Jessica. The final one showed her Mike. She stood up and hurried out the door just as the audio from the device began. A distorted voice in the tone of a game show host saying, “Hello, hello my special little subjects and welcome to Hannah's Game.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I hope you did it!
> 
> I don't want to hear anything about Josh still pulling a prank. I legitimately think it would happen this way.
> 
> Buckle up because things get... weird from here.


	4. Level One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is getting faster updates but I am more inspired to write this one.
> 
> Okay so something started development in this chapter that I didn't expect to. I went with it though. It doesn't change much for future plans but it's different than what was intended. The new tags might tell you what that is...
> 
> Also first chapter with other people's POV.
> 
> EDIT: So I posted this late last night and did not notice two errors that were important to the story. I fixed them. I will make clear what is different the beginning of next chapter.
> 
> Apologies I do not have a beta.
> 
> Enjoy!

Hannah did the first logical thing she could think of. She ran to Josh's room and banged on the door as she held the iPad to her chest. Then she remembered he said he would be sleeping in Beth's room and she raced there instead. She thought about ditching the iPad afraid what she might see there, but then she would have no link to the others.

She thought they might be pulling another mean joke on her, but quickly dismissed it. This was far too elaborate for that. Considering what she saw on some of the cameras, images that were being streamed online at that moment, she doubted any of them would put themselves through this kind of punishment as a joke on her.

“Josh,” she called loudly as she smacked onto Beth's door repeatedly. She hit the door until it was starting to hurt her hand. All the while she called her brother's name. He didn't answer her. He was not in there. It made her more worried. Whoever had taken everyone, they had taken Josh too. She thought about going out into the cold and making her way to the guest cabin to find Sam and Beth.

What if they had been taken as well? Then she would be out in the wilderness alone. She was safer here wasn't she? Whoever had done this didn't want her. If they did then they would have taken her when it was most convenient. When they took everyone else. She heard more audio from the device in her hand and paused in her panic to listen.

“This is how they game works,” the distorted voice continued, “You all just have to survive as long as you can in your personally constructed areas. Simple enough right? But here's the twist little pilgrims, every so often you will be presented with a choice. One that can either make things a little bit easier or a little bit harder. However the choice will not be yours to make. Rather your fate was put in the hands of someone you have wronged: Hannah Washington. Let's hope, for your sakes, she's a forgiving soul.”

Hannah looked down at the flat tool in her hand, suddenly understanding the amount of power she had.

\---

Matt felt good about how things had gone with Hannah. He had been scared of what it would be like to face her again. Emily had been right and he should have listened to her. The only way to get through it was to talk to her.

Maybe he was stupid for rejecting the idea of them being a couple, but Matt's heart had wandered to a place he didn't expect it to over the last year. He had a lot to figure out. It wouldn't be fair to date her when he was pretty sure that somehow ludicrously he had fallen for...

Matt sat on the stairs to the lowest level. That drink must have gotten to him. He had been through this dozens of times already. It was impossible for him to have developed feelings for someone who never spoke to him anymore. And yet...

Here he was sure he had managed to form a huge crush on Hannah in her absence. He didn't expect to miss her this much. The more he missed her the more he thought about her, the more he thought about her the more he missed her and so on. This had gone on for awhile until he began to fixate on all the things he missed about Hannah. Her laugh, how she could be so physically strong and tall and yet so emotionally meek, her genuine optimistic outlook on life, the way she got excited about things as if she were five years old. She was like Disney Princess.

Everybody thought he was still hung up on Jess, upset she had ended up with Mike. Emily was the only one who knew the truth. She had deserved it from him when he turned down her offer to date. She had said he was silly, but she had also been his only support. She told him he probably felt the way he did because he felt bad about what happened.

He didn't think that was true.

He also didn't think Hannah would believe that.

With a heavy sigh Matt stood and went to head to his room for the night. There was movement behind him that he felt more then saw. He made it to the bottom of the stairs before he realized that somebody was following him. He stayed calm for a second but he was scared. He knew it was probably just Chris or Emily playing a joke on him but he was scared anyway. He had just made it to the door when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

“You should already be asleep,” the voice said. Matt felt a chill go down his spine as he span around to expose his friends joke. Instead he found himself pinned to the wall fast and hard. However had a hold on him had used Matt's own momentum to throw him into the wall.

“Guess you're stronger than I thought,” the voice continued. Matt went to tell the person this wasn't very funny when he felt a sharp pain in his neck. He felt himself slip into unconsciousness in seconds.

\---

When he came to he sprang up fast and made himself dizzy. He stumbled around and landed up against a wall. He wasn't sure what had happened or why it had happened. All he knew was wherever he was it was dark and he was alone. There was one door not boarded up, but he didn't know if he should try it. Both staying where he was and leaving seemed like bad ideas. He bounced on his feet nervously as he thought it through.

Matt had just decided anywhere was better than standing in the dark when he heard the voice again.

Even when the voice sounded through the hall he was in the lights remained off. It had said something about a game. A game having to do with Hannah. A sudden fear seized through Matt as he thought of Hannah and Emily and Ashley and the others. Where were they? Had they also had a run in with the man who had knocked him out?

Without another thought on whether it was safe or right Matt ran through the lone door in front of him. He would not fail his friends. Especially not Hannah. Not again.

\---

Ashley didn't remember much from after she left the kitchen. She was frustrated in more ways than one Chris had either been outright ignoring her blatant flirting or been oblivious. What did she have to do? Would it be creepy of her to crawl into Josh's bed with him later on in the night completely naked and hope he did something about it? She felt like he wouldn't ever get what she wanted from him otherwise.

She had pulled out a joint from the bag Josh gave her and lit it before she was even back to the guest room yet. She had needed something to relieve all of her tension since she was confident that despite her many hints Chris would not be joining her. She would have to take care of herself before dinner. She might freak out if she didn't.

She felt woozy after only two pulls of it and ended up leaning against the wall for support. She maybe should have stopped smoking after that. Clearly Josh had given her the wrong bag. This was laced with harder drugs she wasn't prepared for. She would have waited until she was laying down if she knew she was going to be tripping. Stumbling and almost falling over she made it to her room and collapsed onto the bed, blacking out completely.

\---

Ashley woke up to a voice over some speaker system. She was still very groggy, and her body felt too heavy for her to move it. She wasn't in bed anymore. She was on a hard flat surface. Wherever she was, it was ice cold here. She was freezing. She curled in on herself to conserve her warmth. There seemed to be nothing in the area she could put over her cold body.

She caught enough of what was said, but it felt like she was dreaming. Like one of the weird thoughts when you are still waking up but you aren't fully there yet. She sprang up at the mention of Hannah's name though. Somehow that's what made it all real. That was the thing that made it concrete. It was a bad idea to move when she was still so off. She got dizzy and went to put one hand to her head.

This is when Ashley discovered one of her hands was inside tight handcuffs. That would have been bad enough in the other cuff was a hand that didn't belong to her, but was one she knew immediately on sight. She'd pictured those long fingers and wide palms running through her hair and along her body enough times to be positive.

Sure enough there was Chris looking at her with fear and worry in his beautiful blue eyes.

\---

Jessica and Mike had left the kitchen all a twitter ready for round two. If she was being honest the first romp hadn't really lived up to the hype that was Micheal Munroe. Jess had better sex with Josh on their off days. How humiliating would it have been though if she had come down for dinner and not seemed satisfied in front of Hannah and Emily? She wore Mike's shirt for good measure. She'd won. Jess was the winner in their little game of 'get the boy' and she should have felt elated.

She didn't. 

In fact Emily and Hannah looked like they were having a grand old time by the fire together. Once Matt joined them it became like a mini party of their own. One she wanted to be a part of very badly. She felt like a decoration as Mike chatted with Josh over pizza. There to emphasize Mike and no other reason. She spent her dinner thinking. She didn't like thinking. She didn't like the places her mind went.

When Josh offered to make mix drinks she took him up on it. Needing something to drown out all the merriment from the couch by the fire. She downed in quickly loving the sweet taste and the bitterness that followed it. It was gone in no time.

“Come on, Romeo,” she called playfully as Mike downed the rest of his drink and just barely was able to set the cup on the table before she dragged him off. She pulled him into a slopped, tipsy kiss as they made their way out of the room. She dragged him out the door and towards the stairs. They had made it most of the way when Mike pulled back from her and leaned on the banister. 

“Slow down, babe,” he said taking a breath, “Going to run out juices soon.”

“I'm excited,” she said upset he was less enthusiastic about having sex with her this time. He'd almost carried her to the guest room when they got here. “Aren't you excited to be with me?”

“Of course,” he said then he looked away from her before coming forward and putting his hands on her shoulders gently, “It's just I think that drink is getting to me. I'm not sure I'm up to it.”

'So?' she wanted to say. 'We only ever have sex when you want it. Is that what you're getting at here?' Even Josh would go down on her as a curtsey when he got off during sex and she didn't and he wasn't even her boyfriend. But saying it would mean Jess would have to admit she had not in fact gotten off when they had sex earlier.

She felt a sudden weariness come over her and assumed it was the alcohol mixed with disappointment. She felt weak and sighing she nodded, “Let's just sleep then.”

Mike smiled a tired smile and led her the rest of the way to the room. He held her close and kept her under his arm the whole way. They settled under their blankets and cuddled up. That was nice. He was warm and comforting. She felt safe in his arms. He laid a few sleepy kisses on her head. 

Usually it took Jess forever to fall asleep, but she was out almost as soon as Mike put his arms around her. That was terribly romantic if nothing else.

\---

The lights in the room were bright and they were shining right on her. She had woken up to that terrible voice from a distance. It had a laugh in its tone. She was scared and confused. Hannah? She was being punished for what happened to Hannah? Last year? Who in the world would do something like that?

Jess noticed a few important things about herself and the room around her. The first was she was in her panties and bra. It wasn't cold so there wasn't a worry on that front, but she felt a little exposed and her whole body went red with a blush. Whoever did this had taken her clothes. She didn't like thinking on it or the feelings of embarrassment in brought to her.

The next thing she noticed was that her hands were tied with rope to some strange rig in the middle of the floor. It looked like a pulley system of some kind, but she didn't have the best angle to examine it. The rope that attached her to it was long enough to give her bit of slack, but the room was mostly bare so that didn't mean much.

There were screens set up to one side of her of varying lengths and heights with large empty spots too. It was hand made and looked it. But it also looked sturdy and like it was built for a specific purpose in mind for its use. These stretched all along the length of the room.

Finally on the other side of the room also stripped to her panties and bra and tied up the way Jess was to the machine in the middle of the floor was a still groggy Emily.

\---

Mike woke up groggy and dizzy and almost falling over himself. He had fell asleep hard and he could still feel it. He bolted awake as soon as he realized he was not in bed and more importantly that he was buck ass naked. He scrambled trying to find his clothes and when that failed to find something else to cover himself with. He had to settle for his hand.

Once that was taken care of he immediately went to trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. He thought about Jess and swallowed heavy. Where was she? Was she okay? Was she hurt? He had to find her. It was the most important thing on his mind.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped his asshole friends were just playing a cruel joke on him.

When the distorted voice came over the speakers in the hall her was stuck in he had been yanking on the nearest door to try and get it open. It was too hard with one had but using two left him exposed.

He sighed once the announcement was over with. So he wasn't the only one trapped here. The guy had mentioned multiple people. The mountain was desolate so it was safe to assume all the other “subjects” were the Washington siblings and their guests. Mike leaned on the door he had been trying to open with the hopes of thinking this through. That was hard for him. He was an action first kind of guy.

To his surprise the door creaked open the moment he put his weight on it as if it had been unlocked for him just then. With a snort Mike realized that was probably exactly the case in fact. Whoever this fuck was had made it to the top of Mike's shit list. 

So with a huff of aggression he set off to find the bastard.

\---

Hannah wandered through the lodge still a little hopeful that she might run into her brother. He was not on any of the cameras and that was a good thing. That did not mean he was safe though. It could mean any number of things really. Things she did not want to begin considering. Things that made her chest tighten with fear and anxiety.

She had to think, but that was so hard for her with all the pressure. 

She rushed into the dining area to try the phone thinking she should call her parents or the police but it was dead. There was no tone at all. Her cell phone was useless too as there was no service up on top of the mountain. She wasn't even sure what this guy was using to stream this video online. He couldn't be too far. How would he get six bodies so far away so fast?

Hannah found herself pacing the living room staring as her friends took in their surroundings and those of them who weren't alone struck up conversations with whomever they were with. She could not hear what they were saying, but she saw their mouths moving. She didn't know if the silence was intentional or not. Either way it made watching them worse.

She had figure out something. She had to. They were all counting on her.

\---

“Chris,” Ashley said and wished their hands weren't bound if for no other reason than so she could wrap her arms around him in relief. It would have been awkward to try with them bound together. She wasn't alone. She was scared and confused and worried and lost, but not alone. Also she was freezing. Her choice of dress seemed like an even worse idea at that moment.

“I was wondering when you would wake up,” he breathed, “I tried shaking you but you didn't move.”

“How..?” she asked. He was more coherent. He had been awake longer than her. What was the chance he knew more about the situation than her?

Chris sighed, “I don't know. I brought dinner to your room for the two of us and you were already out.”

Ashley tried not to focus on her disappointment that Chris HAD come to join her after all. It wasn't where her priorities needed to be. Still it didn't help. “So what did you do? What happened?”

Chris blushed a little and she couldn't imagine how he could be embarrassed right then, “I was tucking you under the covers so you would be comfortable and I just sort of passed out on your bed.”

Goodness he was sweet. She wished she was in a frame of mind to appreciate that. She shivered and looked around, “Where are we?”

“Looks like a freezer,” he said also looking around, “One those big one restaurants and butchers use for meat storage.”

There was stutter in his voice. He was cold too. That was something as Chris wore multiple layers all the time. It must have been cold in there if he was feeling it. He had on a sweater and three shirts on at the very least. She shuttered at that thought. So much of her was in thin clothing. She wished she could collapse in on herself to get warm. No matter how close she got to her own body it wasn't enough.

“Here,” she heard Chris say and she looked his way to see him unzipping his top layer. He shrugged off his sweater and pulled out his free arm. He pushed the other sleeve down to their cuffed wrists. It took him a second to turn it inside out, but once he did he draped it around her. Ashley held the ends close together feeling moderately better. He had on long sleeve button up and t-shirt. So he would probably be okay for the moment.

“Chris,” Ashley whispered desperately, “We have to get out of here. If we don't we'll freeze to death.”

It was at this point Chris raised a chain from the ground up to show her. She followed it to see it was attached to his leg on one end and attache to the wall on the other. They were right next to where it was fastened so there was plenty of slack. There would not be once they stood up and tried walking away from the wall. Ashley looked around the room until she spotted the door. It was on the farthest side of the room from them. They would never make it there. They'd be lucky to make it halfway.

She and Chris were going to die in this ice box prison.

\---

“What the fuck is going on?” Emily yelled. Jess stared at her. She had no answers. Emily didn't really expect her to know why this was happening did she? 

“What makes you think I know?” Jess barked back. Emily tried to pull on her restraints and Jess felt dumb for not having tried that herself.

“Right,” Emily sneered not looking at her, “That would require some brains. I forget that you've been getting by in life on your back!”

“Well, Emily 'I know everything' Davis,” Jess snapped, “Let's see your 4.0 get us out of this mess.”

“Why?” Emily yelled trying to pry her hands apart, but it was no use, “I would assume a slut like you would be perfectly comfortable standing around in your underwear. Not sure why you bother to wear clothes anyway.”

“Yeah, at least people want to see me naked,” Jess argued back wanting nothing more than to not be with this girl, “Unlike your skanky ass.”

“God, you are such a bitch!” Then Emily pulled on it very hard. With her whole body in fact. She fell back on her rear end. The rope which had very little slack fell back with her and Jess saw a wheel on the machine move then felt herself be tugged forwards. She almost tripped and barely caught herself.

Jess and Emily. They were being held together with one piece of rope.

They locked eyes. This was a game. The voice had said it was a game. They hadn't been told the rules but it seemed pretty clear. Whenever the other moved back they would be yanked forward. The rope was twisted all through the machine. Getting it out would be nearly impossible. They didn't have all the information yet, but one thing was clear:

Only one of them was meant to get out of this.

\---

Sound came out of the device in her hands and almost made Hannah jump out of her skin. She heard Jess and Emily's voices arguing. She was torn between being upset they were fighting at a time like this and relived to hear their voices. It reminded her that they were okay.

Looking through the cameras she saw Chris and Ashley both up and after the screen adjusted to them she heard them as well. Ashley sounded likely on the verge of tears and Chris was trying to keep calm. No matter how she felt about Ashley, she didn't like seeing her this way and Chris was like her brother. This was hard to watch. She changed cameras.

She settled on Mike for awhile and felt her face heat up with a blush. Watching his camera was hard for a very different reason. It was not the time for shyness, but it was enviably that she would feel ashamed looking at him walk around naked, covering himself with his hands. She ignored the part of herself that felt vindicated by it.

Finally she came back around to Matt's camera and that was her opening.

Matt stumbled out of one room and into another. When the camera's view switched onto him Hannah saw some old movie props flash quickly in front of the screen as if they person in control had switched to the wrong one for a second. Movie props like the ones her father kept in the basement! She watched Matt for a moment longer just to be sure. The kids hadn't crossed into the old hotel much over the year, but they had done so enough times that Hannah knew it when she saw it.

They were right below her and Hannah could save them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Josh seems to have very specific plans for everyone. Bet you can even guess some.
> 
> I promise the real action gets rolling next time.


	5. Easy Mode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's an easy choice to make and that might just be the problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I did not abandon this. A new chapter where we finally get into the good stuff I mean the bad stuff. However you see it.
> 
> Enjoy.

Hannah made her way downstairs two steps at a time. She knew her way to the basement even though she had not gone down there much. Josh had convinced her to go into the old hotel with him quite a few times and almost every time he had scared her. She didn't like the basement. It was ingrained in her at this point not to trust it.

But she had to do it. For the others. So she took a deep breath as if jumping into a swimming pool and forced her way down the concrete stairs. She had to find the door to the old hotel fast.

She kept one eye on the device as she searched. Worried and maybe even morbidly curious about what was happening. Matt was in a dark hallway by himself. She felt the worse for him. 

She also felt oddly in kin with him and how similar their situations were. He was calling her name, all their names actually. Leave it to Matt in a situation like this to be concerned with other people and want to help out. He had a big heart. They were both trying to save everyone.

Hannah leaned back as far as she could and rammed herself hard against the door in the wine cellar when she found it. Her shoulder hurt but the barrier between her and the hotel flew open. Struggling to her feet she rushed to the stairs on the other side of the room. She was inside but finding her friends in this massive building was another job entirely.

\---

“Hannah,” Matt called into the dark long hallway. He had been searching for a way out but this stretch of hall seemed to only go one way. There were no doors really, because the few he found either couldn't be opened or they were blocked off by rubble and fallen beams. He had nowhere to go except forward. It was very dark where he was and he had to keep one hand on the wall for guidance as he couldn't see more than a foot or so in front of him. Finally he heard something faintly as he approached what looked to be the end of the hallway. A girl's voice, it sounded scared and upset and he knew it well.

It was Hannah's voice.

“Matt,” she called. She was calling for him, maybe she was looking for him. His heart seized with fear. Or maybe she was calling for help. Matt began to run despite not knowing what was in front of him and he stumbled down the hall tripping over the debris, he wished he hadn't taken his boots off when he and Hannah came back inside, but seeing as his socks were gone too the kidnapper would have probably just removed them. He had one hand in front of him as he made his way and it smacked into the door. This one looked more intact than the others had. He was hopeful it would open.

He tried the handle and found the door was stuck. He pushed hard against it hearing Hannah continue to call his name the whole time. If he could get to her then they could look for everyone else together. Neither of them would be alone and there was power in numbers.

After wiggling and straining a few times the door popped open for him. He fell through it and onto the floor below. As soon as he was on the ground he heard the door slam shut behind him. He had a feeling it would not open again if he tried it. He got to his feet and immediately felt pain. He stepped back only to feel more pain. Looking down he saw why.

The floor below him was littered with broken glass. Broken mirror glass to be exact and fragments of his own face were staring back at him. Not only that but the walls around him were also covered in the same mirrors. There were a dozen Matts all around him. He had no idea where to go.

“Matt,” he heard cut through everything. She sounded closer. He had gone the right direction at least. He had to keep following Hannah's voice.

So with his own eyes judging him and glass cutting into his bare feet, Matt took off in search of her.

\---

“So I bet you two are wondering how your little game works,” the deep and raspy voice from the flat device said as Hannah made her way through the long hallways. The camera had been switched to and was stuck on Jessica and Emily so Hannah guessed he was speaking to them. “Well let me explain.”

“There's camera set up passed those screens to your side. Right now you are both partially exposed to my audience online.” Hannah saw both girls attempt to cover themselves but it wasn't any use with their hands bound. “But there is a way to cover yourselves and leave this room. All you have to do is make it to the door behind you, but once you do this you will expose the other girl completely to my audience's view.”

“And what if we don't play your little game?” Emily bit back. Hannah felt her heart seize up with fear. The voice over her iPad laughed and there was a loud mechanical sound. Hannah looked down leaning against the wall. The machine in the center of the room spun to life and both Emily and Jessica were being yanked by their ropes towards the rig.

“Oh I think you will play,” he laughed, “Who knows what will happen if you hit that machine? It might tear your arms right off.”

Fear flashed through Jessica's eyes and a second later she was backing up and looked to be struggling to do so. She was also dragging Emily towards the device. Emily seemed caught off-guard and so she fell forward onto her knees making her appear more in her unclothed state. Hannah gasped upon seeing that this monster had taken Emily's clothes and presumably Jessica's as well. She felt bad for them. 

Or at least she tried to.

\---

“You fucking bitch,” Emily yelled as she was dragged towards the machine and felt her knees scrap. “You're even more of a backstabber than I thought!”

Emily had to use all her strength to pull herself onto her feet and pull back away from Jess. The other girl had not even hesitated to pull her 'best friend' towards the whirling machine. Emily felt a hot blush cover her body. She was afraid of the device in the center of the room, but had what the voice said really been true? Could people see her fighting back against this torture device and Jess in nothing but her bra and underwear? It was hard to keep her mind off the idea that she was being publicly shamed.

“You would do the same to me,” Jess yelled back sounding out of breath from her activity. Emily had not gotten enough footing yet to begin pulling her back. Jessica had gotten quite the head start. It was hard for Emily to stay on her feet while she was yanked forward. She had to think of something. If she didn't Jess could get her killed.

“I'm not the one who stole your boyfriend,” Emily cried out finally getting a foot hold but only being able to stop herself and not move Jess. The machine made some terrible noises as the gears inside were grinding to a halt.

“No, but you had no issue selling me out to Beth,” Jess barked, also forced to a halt.

“What are you talking about?” Emily gasped. She got her opening when she realized soon Jess would get tired. She hadn't saved up her strength and it was depleting. The girl wouldn't be able to fight much more than another minute or two. Emily just had to keep herself still during that time so she would have the strength to pull her forward instead.

“That prank on Hannah was just as much your idea as it was mine,” Jess continued breathing heavily, “Yet when everything was over you had no guilt over telling Beth it was all my idea! We haven't really talked in months. It's nothing but polite chit chat. She fucking hates me, but you golden girl, oh you got off scotfree.”

“It took months for Beth to forgive me,” Emily argued, “It's not my fault she is still mad at you!”

“Oh please,” Jess tried to sound intimidating but just came off as tired, “I've seen you all night trying to play the pity card with Hannah. 'Oh boo hoo poor Emily lost her boyfriend to her best friend.' Did you let Hannah know you broke up because of her? I bet you guilt tripped her real good. Even though you were the one who dumped Mike!”

Jess' hands fell forward a little after she said it. She had wasted her energy calling Emily out. She was tried and with the force she had left in her Emily started to to back away from the machine pulling Jess forward as she did.

\---

They were in danger so Hannah tried not to focus on the mean things they said to each other. But...

Had Emily really just been playing Hannah this whole time? Was she really sorry or was it just an act? She had made herself believe that Emily cared about her. But maybe Jess was the better of the two for not pretending to feel bad about something she didn't feel bad about it. If that was even what Emily had been doing. Hannah felt that same icy sheet of distrust build itself up around her heart. She didn't want to listen to them anymore and she changed the camera view as soon as she was able. 

It was difficult to walk through the hotel while keeping one eye on the device in her hands. She had to keep checking it so she couldn't just look where she was going all the time. It was that or stop moving to check it and she couldn't stop. It was hard to hold both the iPad and her flashlight at the same time. She wasn't made for this kind of thing. She was a pampered princess.

However there was no one else to do it. She looked down at her screen and saw she had switched to Chris and Ashley who were talking much more quietly then Jessica and Emily had been. She had to strain her ears to hear them.

\---

“So what exactly do we do?” Ashley asked wishing that she could zip up Chris' sweater. It wouldn't be impossible but it was hard with it inside out. Chris was searching his pockets for something. That made her hand get jerked around, but if he had an idea she wasn't going to stop him. After a moment Chris pulled a small tube from his back pocket.

“I've got an eyeglass repair kit,” he told her as he opened it and took the screw driver out.

“Are you going to pick the lock?” Ashley asked trying not to be hopeful. Chris shrugged as he inserted the tool into one of the slots and began to fiddle around with it. She heard the light clanks as the tool hit against the tumblers in the lock.

“I'm gonna try,” he replied. She was pretty sure she had never heard Chris sound so unsure of himself. He was usually full of confidence when he set to a task. But they were usually tasks he could complete. She watched him work hoping the handcuffs would click open with every stroke of the small tool. 

Chris released it for a second and shook out his hand. Right, the metal on the screwdriver was probably cold as well as the cuffs. Everything in here was cold. She couldn't tell if the temperature was dropping or if it was getting worse from them being in there. Either way it was freezing. Ashley wrapped her arm around herself and shivered. Chris glanced up at her and then back down at his task.

“I don't know why you wore that,” he commented off-handily, “You knew we were coming up to the mountain this weekend.”

Ashley felt anger boil all through her blood. She knew it was pointless because they had much bigger things to think about, but she was still angry. She had done this FOR Chris. In order to get his attention. In the hopes he might look at her and see her as a hot-blooded young woman who could be sexy if she wanted to be instead of one of the guys. And he was criticizing her for it.

“Yeah, let's focus on that,” she snapped, “It was stupid of me. I don't know what I was thinking.”

She turned away from him and listened to his tool continue to work on the handcuffs. She felt like she might cry soon and wasn't sure if it was because she was scared about their situation or upset at Chris. After a moment he mumbled something and she turned to him.

“What?” she yelled feeling tears fall from her eyes. He looked up at her for another quick glance and repeated himself.

“I said that I never said you didn't look good.”

She realized her tears were from fear then because that barely made her feel better. She moved her hand to wipe her face and heard a snap. She recognized far too late that she had moved her cuffed hand and in doing so had broken Chris' tool. She moved her hand in time to see the part in her cuff fall out and roll away. She and Chris lunged forward in hopes of finding it before it got too far away from them, but it was quickly lost in all the debris in the room.

“Oh my god,” Ashley nearly screamed, “I'm so sorry, Chris.”

Why was she such a fuck up? That might have been their only way out and she had made him drop it. She felt hot tears streaking their way down her cold face and the only relief that came from it was the brief warmth that gave her before leaving her face even colder. She felt Chris' hand wipe her face.

“It probably wasn't going to work anyway,” he sighed. He leaned against the wall and then sat back up almost instantly. Everything in here was too cold for them to touch. She shivered at the thought of what a few hours in here would do to them. Chris seemed to consider something before he blushed again and grasped her wrist.

“Come here,” he said, “We should sit together at least... for warmth.”

Ashley wished she was in a place to appreciate Chris pulling her to sit between his legs, up against his wide chest and wrapping her in his arms. She was too busy thinking about how they might slowly die.

\---

Hannah breathed a slight sigh of relief as she saw them. The were in better shape than the others though they would freeze to death eventually. If she didn't find them. But that just meant she had to find them. And she would. She would find them. She switched the camera to check on Mike.

She didn't watch Mike's camera often. She didn't like the feelings it put inside of her. She didn't like to think of herself as a vindictive person, but it was hard not to feel satisfaction in how he tired to cover himself as he stumbled through the halls. He deserved it. The humiliation she could see burning on his face as he walked around in the nude. He finally looked the way Hannah had felt for over a year and it felt kinda good.

The other feeling only served to remind her that maybe she hadn't completely moved on from her crush and that just depressed her. She had decided to switch back to Matt's camera and see how he was doing when the voice she had come to hate spoke up again.

“Having fun, Micheal?” he asked with an obvious laugh in his voice. Mike stopped in the middle of the tiny room he was in and he looked around for the voice. He covered himself as soon as the voice spoke though, making him look less intimidating.

“Show yourself you fuck!” Mike commanded and Hannah couldn't tell if his bravado was false or not.

“Micheal,” the voice responded, “Calm down now. You should feel special. You're the first one to get to play our little game of chance. Isn't that exciting?”

“The Hell are you talking about?” Mike barked spinning around as if he could find the mysterious man. Hannah felt her heart jump into her throat. This was it. The moment she had been dreading. But it was okay because she was in control. She could stop this madness from happening. She had nothing to be afraid of.

So why was she so scared?

“I'm not playing your games!” Mike yelled to no one as if he had a choice in this. He didn't. It was all in Hannah's hands. It was all up to her. The device in her hands felt strangely heavy all of a sudden. The voice ignored him and spoke for the first time directly to her.

“Well Hannah, it's all up to you,” it said, “You can stop this right now if you want. There are two doors in front of Mr. Munroe. One of them will lead him to a safe room for the rest of our little game as for the other, well let's just say it will give our friend here a little taste of his own medicine. The safe door is on the right. All you have to do is choose.”

Sure enough as soon as he finished speaking the words 'right' and 'left' popped up on her screen. They were highlighted like buttons so she knew pushing one would give this maniac her answer. She could save Mike. All she had to do was press the button that said 'right.'

She just had to push the button. She just had to push the button. Why wasn't she pressing the button?

“Hannah,” she heard Mike call. On the screen she could see he had run to the safe door. He was pulling on the handle as if he could pry it open with sheer will.

A weird feeling came over her then. She didn't like him just assuming she would save him. He had been the least sorry about what happened to her last year and yet had no guilt about deciding that of course Hannah would save him. Just like he had known she would come to the guest room for him. And take her top off for him. Cry over him for months afterward. He controlled her and he knew it. He abused it. He abused her. He expected her to jump when he said 'Jump.' What if she didn't? Huh? What would big and strong Micheal Munroe do then? She wondered.

\---

“Hannah,” Mike continued to call. What was taking her so long? She just had to pick a door. The right door to free him. It couldn't be that hard could it? She wasn't seriously considering putting him through more of this. 

“Hannah, girl,” he pleaded. He had to get through to her, “Come on you're my only hope right now and I need you. If you can hear me then you know how sorry I am and how out of hand it all got last year.”

The stark silence that followed his words was skin-crawling. He was begging to nothing, to no one. He didn't even know if Hannah could hear him. He pulled at the door hoping it would loosen. That it would open for him. He pulled and pulled until his hands were sore.

“You and me though, we're still friends and I care about you I do!” He cried out desperately. His words were punctuated by the sound of a door slamming open. The door to his left. Hannah made her choice and she decided he needed to be punished.

“Well now,” the voice said, “It seems like your lies didn't get through to her.”

Mike scoffs towards the ceiling. He couldn't let the fear building in his abdomen show on his face. They were watching him. He didn't even have to go through the door. He could wait it out in this place. But he wasn't stupid. He felt like the guy would have planned for that scenario. Something probably much worse was waiting in this room.

“Thanks, Han,” Mike bit as he marched towards the door. Whatever was through it, he would face it head on. He took a deep breath before he stepped over the threshold. As soon as he was through the door slammed behind him, leaving him in the pitch black. 

There was old wood underneath his feet, the kind that breaks easily and splinters deeply if touched the wrong way. It moaned and creaked under if footfalls. This would be okay. If he went slowly nothing would happen. If he was careful and kept his head he could navigate this. He moved through the room delicately so as not to run his body against any wood.

He didn't notice the thin wire, how could he in the dark, until he tripped over it. Mike stumbled forward as a bright flash went off in his face, blinding him. There was the obvious sound of a camera clicking as he tried to regain his footing with spots in his eyes.

Pictures! This psycho was taking photos of Mike in his dazed and naked state. Fury rushed through him but was replaced with pain as a board under his foot snapped and his ankle sunk into the sharp wood.

“Ah!!” he yelled as he torn his now bleeding ankle from the floor and tripped forward when the weak wood gave way. Another wire, another flash. His back his the wall and scrapped against the few pieces sticking out. He lunged forward in instinct away from the pain. His hand slid across the opposite wall and tiny fragments of wood lodged into his skin. He flailed back. A wire and a flash was the result.

Every step became a endurance test as his body was cut and scrapped as his eyes were blinded by light every few seconds. He tried to stay calm. He tried to keep him pace steady, but eventually his impulse nature took hold of him.

“Fuck this and fuck you, Hannah,” Mike yelled as he ran forward with a hand in front of his eyes. He didn't care about the pain. He just needed out of this room. He stumbled even more with out his sight and his feet tangled in another wire as he fell to the floor, bleeding and red. He fell into a pile of wood and yelled in pain. Splinters and broken pieces dug into his skin. His body felt abused.

Mike lay there for awhile as he heard laughter over the unseen speakers system. He breathed heavily as the embarrassment and shame swelled through him. His body hurt and he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He felt humiliated and stupid and worthless. Mostly though he was angry, at this mysterious man and at Hannah.

It was this emotion that pushed him forward. He rolled onto his hand and knees and began crawling his way through the hall.

\---

Hannah stared at the night-vision video of Mike crashing his way through the hall. He looked pathetic, almost like he might cry. He kept screaming and whining and tripping over things. It was a sad sight to be watching. And dozens of people could see it.

She wasn't sure what came over her, why she had pressed the 'left' button. Probably because she felt so used by him. Because saving him would have been so expected and he would get exactly what he had wanted from her yet again. 

She couldn't let that happen.

She isn't sure what she expected to feel when he was forced to content with her choice, she didn't even know what would happen. It wasn't this though. It wasn't the pity she felt surge through her chest at the sight of him bleeding and failing like a fool. It wasn't the guilt she felt chocking her as he cursed at the mysterious figure and at her. It wasn't the shame that tainted her face as he fell and began to crawl on the floor like a wounded animal.

And it certainly wasn't the satisfaction that was overriding all those feelings that she finally was able to see Mike suffer for what he did. She was powerful and in control and vindicated.

And she hated to say that it felt good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it might be clear what Josh has in mind for Chris and Ashley at least but don't think that means Ashley is getting a pass. Mwahaha.
> 
> Also Mike sucks to be him huh? Hannah is more complicated than he likes his ladies.


	6. Difficulty Spike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She can't stop it, no matter how much she tries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay long time since an update I know. But the creative juices are flowing so here we are.
> 
> Please keep in mind that I am trying to be a little realistic but also the game isn't so yeah some artistic license has been taken.
> 
> No beta, I made all the mess-ups.
> 
> Enjoy.

Matt continued to make his way down the hall.

He tried to ignore the stings of pain in his feet. He tried to ignore the blood he could feel forming on his legs and toes. He had taken to kneeling so he could quickly sweep the glass away with his jacket. That only cleared some of the path and he didn’t have time to make sure he got it all. He had to get to Hannah and he had to get there fast. He tried to focus only ahead. Only on Hannah. Her voice. It got louder when he turned certain ways and quieter others. He tried to follow it and not let the pain get to him as he did. 

Harder to ignore was the endless walls of his own face. Sometimes he would stumble as he stood to rest his knees and run right into himself, be forced to stare at his own pain and shame. He felt himself being judged by his own dark eyes. He hated himself. They knew it. Every Matt here knew he hated himself. Knew he was angry for what he had done to Hannah.

Matt’s hand hit a particularly sharp piece of glass he had missed in his rushed attempts to clear the way for himself and he almost fell to the floor. He had to keep himself up even if it hurt. Even if all he wanted to do was fall to the floor to curl into a ball and sleep. He leaned against one of the walls and stared at the Matts that judged him. He had tried not to look at them for too long. He had tried not to let them see him. 

But he was so tired from moving and from pain. He just stared. They stared back. This was how Hannah saw him. Weak and cold and tired and the furthest thing from someone who loved her.

That thought was the one that spurred him on. This was how Hannah saw him and it wasn’t how he wanted her to see him. Maybe that was selfish, maybe that was self serving. Maybe it was the wrong moment to think about it. And maybe it was the wrong thing to motivate him.

But it got his ass in motion.

Finally after what felt like half an eternity Hannah’s voice became the loudest he had heard it since she started calling. He had reached another long hallway and was sure that was the source. He rushed even more than he had been previously. He missed more glass than he usually did which only slowed him down even more but his push to get himself to Hannah was more important. He could live with some blood and pain. For her sake he could endure it.

After another half an eternity he reached the end and Hannah was right in the other side of the loosely boarded up door. If he was more coherent he may has noticed that this was set up very much like a trap. That he shouldn’t trust this. He was too relieved to have found her though.

He stood and with the little strength he had left in his sore and torn up body he yanked at the lose boards one by way. He ripped them out of the wall and threw them to the ground having to stop a few times to catch his breath. He only got the last one halfway out but it was enough to open the door and that was all that mattered to him. He bulldozed his way in and tumbled to the floor.

“Hannah,” he called jumping to his feet as fast as he could. 

“Matt?”

\---

Eventually he and Ashley stood up. The floor was very cold and he thought they might fair a bit better on their feet. They stayed huddled together though and good lord, stupid Josh putting so many stupid thoughts about her in his head earlier. 

This was the exact opposite time that he should be thinking about this. About Ashley basically curled up into his chest next to his heart, their cuffed hands between them with fingers interlocked. About her breath coming out in cute little pants. About her hand (he thinks without her knowledge) crawling its way into his shirt and her fingers digging into his chest hair. About how in response his own hand had drifted up the back of her shirt and had made it high enough in its search for body heat that his long fingers brushed the clip of her bra. About her one long leg pressed to his as close as she could manage to get it and her other snuggled between his own two in order to keep it warm. About how that meant she was straddling his thigh and her own thigh pressed up against his groin.

The absolute wrong time because they were in serious danger. He wished he could get his friend downstairs to understand that. It hopefully wasn’t to the point where she was going to notice it was there (Who was he kidding? Given how close they were there was no way she didn't know he had a boner) but he it was still there. Wasn’t the cold supposed to deter these types of things? 

He must have really liked Ashley.

“How you doing?” he asked trying hard to ignore that she looked so cute snuggled into him like that. He could get used to this. 'For fuck’s sake Chris, you are in danger! She is in danger! Not the time!'

“Been better,” she attempted to joke causing small warm puff of air to tickle his throat. Then she retreated further into him. He could pin her tiny body up against this wall and have her in every way he’d ever wanted. No, no, no. There was nothing sexy about this. He sighed hard thinking maybe his mind was trying to distract itself. It sure had chosen a great topic to focus on instead. Though he guessed there could be worse things than him thinking about he was holding Ashley in the way a lover might. 

Seriously though, fuck Josh.

Chris felt Ashley tilt her face up at him but they were so close that she more looking at his chin then into his eyes. He tried to lean back a bit so there faces lined up. Great. It was exactly what he needed, Ashley lips less than an inch from his own. He’d barely have to move to connect them.

“I’m really scared, Chris,” she whispered. She looked it too. He wanted to tuck her away and hold her tight and protect her forever.

“I am too,” he confessed because distracted as he was that was still true. He just didn’t want to think about that. He wanted to think about her. Her safety, her fear, her worries, her thoughts, her bod-

It was better to focus on her than himself or their situation. He somehow felt more in control of that. Even if it made no sense. If he could keep her safe, her warm, her calm than that was the best thing he could do for them both.

“But I got you okay,” he reassured, “I’m here for you so long as you’re here for me. I got your back.”

She laughed a little as she nodded (probably too cold to talk) cause he squeezed her back firmly when he said it. He liked to make her smile. Worst time or not he couldn’t deny that she seemed to like this as much as he did. He was weirdly happy that he had ended up stuck with Ashley. His good luck that this psycho had done that for him at least. 

Yeah, this psycho had locked him in a room with Ashley… Why would this guy lock him up with Ashley? Was it just because he had found them together in her room? But everything about this whole thing seemed organized, pre-planned, laid out. This couldn’t have been random could it? Why him and Ash? Why a freezer?

Chris was about to ask Ashley her opinion when a laugh boomed through their icy prison.

\---

Hannah heard the laugh from her device. She looked down at it in fear. Once more the screen was stuck on one camera. This time it was Chris and Ashley's. Her heart stopped. She knew another choice would be taking place.

The vindication from allowing Mike to go through what he did had worn off fairly quickly. All that was left was the mortification and disbelief that she had done that and the terror of knowing what she was capable of. She wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t want to be a bad person. She didn’t want to believe she was the kind of person who would derive joy from someone in pain. Even someone who had hurt her as badly as Mike had.

This would be fine though. Hannah loved Chris. He was practically family to her. The two had grown up together along with Josh, Sam and Beth. He'd always treated her well. Chris was a good friend to her. This would not be hard. No part of her would ever want harm to come to him in any way.

She ignored the part of her brain that asked, ‘and what about Ashley?’

She didn’t have to answer because after some time with that particularly evil sounding laughter the voice spoke up, “It looks like you’ve got yourself quite the handful, Christopher. Some people might even say I did you a favor here.”

“The fuck do you want, you maniac?” Chris snapped at the ceiling his eyes searching. He looked into the camera for a second and far away as he was she could see how scared he really was. Hannah had seen them pull apart when the voice had started speaking to them as if embarrassed they had been so close to begin with. Still even with their hand at his side and his clenched Chris held Ashley to him with the other. Hannah found herself wondering how great it would feel to have a man love her in the way Chris so obviously loved Ashley. Where even when faced with the worst things imaginable she would always be his top priority. Where her life mattered far more than his did. Even in this horrible place playing this awful game Hannah sighed a little at how wonderfully romantic that was.

‘She doesn’t even appreciate it,’ her mind mocked. She agreed with that. Chris was far too good of a person than Ashley would ever deserve. But Hannah cared about him and that should stretch to the girl he cared about more than anyone too.

Right?

“What do I want?” the voice continued, “This isn’t about what I want. It’s about what Hannah needs. Personally I think the truth is a good place to start. Don’t you agree, Ashley?”

Hannah saw Ashley tried to retreat from Chris' hold after the voice finished. Chris turned his eyes slowly onto her. Hannah could feel the tension from where she stood presumably at the least twenty feet away.

“Ashley?” he asked.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she said and Hannah could hear in her voice she was lying. There was also the fact that she looked to the ground. She was hiding something. Something she thought was really bad.

“Now Ashley,” the voice continued, “There is an easy way to do this and a hard way. Hannah and I already saw how well that worked out for Michael. I would suggest you not follow in his footsteps.”

At that Ashley pulled away from Chris looking terrified, “I don’t know what you mean? I don’t have anything to tell anyone!”

The distorted voice actually sounded like it sighed deeply before saying, “I really didn’t want it to come to this, Ash.”

Ash? That stuck out to Hannah. It was a weird level of comfort for this person to have with the other girl.

That train of thought was halted by the sight of a hose out of nowhere lowering down from the ceiling. In front of Ashley. Chris was still to her side, having made no move to pull Ashley back to him. Hannah wasn’t sure why he didn’t. Maybe the curiosity had gotten to him.

“Let’s try this one more time the easy way,” the voice stressed louder this time, “I believe that you have something to tell Hannah. And unless you want to face what’s coming through that pipe I’d start talking and quickly.”

Ashley hoped from foot to foot. She tried to move to the side and the hose followed her. She wasn’t going to be able to escape it, at least not all of it. But even a little water in an ice box could be bad. She had crossed her arms and looked fit to burst. She squeezed her eyes tightly and…

“She deserved it!”

The words reverberated off the walls. The shock Hannah felt pulsing through her own body was mirrored on Chris’ face. He looked like all the air had been sucked out of him. Hannah felt much the same. Ashley had been an accomplice in what happened and Hannah had always assumed it went no deeper than her wanting to have a laugh or her being too high to protest it. She would have never guessed that Ashley was not only complicit in the prank but actively wanted the others to prank her.

Why?

\---

Chris felt like he couldn’t breathe. The puffs of air that formed in front of his mouth were the only indication that he was in fact still doing so. He’d just had a very different picture of Ashley in his mind up until that moment. One of someone kind if at times misguided. Someone who loved all of her friends and tried to help them. Someone who was smart but never flashy about it. A sweet, frayed, spaced out, beautiful mess, but not bad, never bad. Someone who was honest but only in the way people needed. She had been perfect to him. For him.

“Ashley,” he barely got out, “How could you say that?”

“Because it wasn’t right!” she yelled at him, “They all spoil her. Her parents, her sister, Josh, Sam, YOU, everyone! You try to protect her from the truth. She’s so up on her high horse she was going to sleep with Mike! Do you understand how messed up that is? Do you get what kind of mindset someone has to be in to be comfortable doing that to their friend?!”

“People make mistakes,” he argued back torn between feeling two strong emotions. One being mad at Ashley for how she could treat a person he loved like a sister this way. The other his deep desire to pull her in close again (for her body warmth and to recapture the somehow fulfilling tension between them).

“How would you feel if I fucked Josh?” she snapped being the first of the two of them to even dare to imply blatantly out loud that they were quite clearly more than close friends. He hated the pit of anger and disgust and betrayal that settled in his stomach just from her saying it. The image of his best friend having her in ways he’d always envisioned himself having her flew through his spinning head like a flashlight being turned on and off again repeatedly. Her sloppy lips crashing hard into his. Her legs hooking around his waist to draw him in closer. Her eager hands clawing at his body. Her nails scraping harsh red lines on his back. Her moaning not Chris’ but Josh’s name in passion and need. It alone was enough to make him want to beat Josh to death and it hadn’t even really happened. Just Josh. Even in an act that she would have been actively consenting to, Chris still knew he would only be mad at Josh. His affection for her stopped any and all negative emotions he would have felt. Maybe Emily had more of a point than he had ever previously thought she did.

He had given no answer to her demand and had looked away from her slinking back. She must have taken that as a ‘I would feel like complete shit’ as she continued on.

“And it’s not fair!” she almost gasped still very loud, “Why does she get to live in her fairy-tale land and pretend to be some princess? The world isn’t like that and she needed to know that it just isn’t. Maybe I thought she’d be stronger for it. I sure am. But no she gets to keep acting like a fragile baby, dragging us all up here to tell us what for over a stupid prank. You and Josh prank me all the time and you don’t see me hiding in my room for months and months on end. She is such a child! I haven’t gotten to be a child since I was 4 and my mom was shot to death. I don’t get to be child and act like the world is all rainbows and butterflies. I don’t get to be a child when I have to take care of my wreck of a sister. Or cook my own dinner half the time cause no one else is home. And when I’m taking weekly beatings from my father. I had to grow up out my fantasies and so does Hannah!”

“Ash, how-” He didn’t know how to phrase it, “Why do you care how Hannah lives her life?”

“Because I don’t like seeing what mine could have been like,” she almost cried, “It hurts so much.”

Chris hated to think that Ashley kind of had a point.

Hannah was optimistic and carefree and so sweet and always had an infectious positive attitude. All of those were great things. But she was also really selfish and demanding and sheltered. The prank last year was probably the worst thing to ever happened to her and Chris who’d grown up only barely middle-class and without a father (a man who may not have even know Chris existed) could easily relate to feeling like Hannah had done nothing to have it so good.

He felt like he should be much angrier at Ashley for how she spoke about Hannah, but the fact was for how cruel it had been it was not a lie. She wasn’t being mean. She was being honest in how people needed her to be. She was simply saying out loud what they all thought at one time or another in the back of their minds about Hannah Washington. Was that so wrong of her to do?

“There I said it,” Ashley yelled to the ceiling fear and hurt breaking through her words, “I did what you wanted me too.”

The voice sighed again, “Ashley, I already told you this isn't about what I want, but what Hannah needs. You and I- we don’t get to decide this. She does.”

Chris saw Ashley stiffen and did the same as the very real threat of that hanging pipe dawned on them.

\---

Hannah had to lean against the wall as she heard Ashley say… say those things about her. It wasn’t true was it? Her friends didn’t really think about her that way. That she was a spoiled brat who always got her way. That she was a baby. That she held out on forgiveness and dragged them up here as some kind of entitlement.

Too bad the more she thought about it the more possible it became. The way they rolled their eyes away from her at times. The looks they shared with one another when they thought she couldn’t see. The way Sam and Beth acted like she could break if pressed just a little too hard. The way Josh had treated her twin like an equal and not her. Because Beth was his equal and Hannah was below them. She was the bottom of the totem pole. The weak link in the chain. Only kept around because she was Beth and Josh’s sister. Had any them ever really been HER friend?

‘Sam,’ her mind answered for her but then almost directly countered, ‘My best friend who made little protest about leaving me with these people so she could go off and screw Beth in private. Who went behind my back to hookup with my twin sister in the first place. Who’d secretly been dating my her for months before finally telling me. Because she was afraid, scared I would take it badly.’

Sam had been right though Hannah took it so badly. Of course she did. Beth has stolen away the only person that had been firmly and only Hannah’s.

She felt tears running down her cheeks. Ashley was crying too. Hannah felt bad for her. She wanted to hate Ashley (and all things considered she wasn’t exactly crazy about the girl) but instead she was thankful. Thankful to know where she stood with them all. Thankful to finally know that they hadn’t come up here for her, but for each other and her siblings. She couldn’t hate Ashley for that.

Hannah slid to the floor hearing and feeling the voice was once again radiating through her small flat device, but comprehending none of it. She couldn’t understand the words. Her brain was busy filtering and processing what she has learned. She wasn’t paying attention.

Her name was spoken a few times, but it wasn’t until the third or forth she registered that. She gazed down at the device still half out of it and noticed a large red box had appeared on the screen blinking the word ‘stop’ in the center. Stop?

All at once Hannah snapped out of her daze and held the device closer to her face. Stop what? She had missed the rules of this game. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be choosing here? She couldn’t let anything happen to Chris! And even if she was mad at Ashley her run in with Mike had taught her a valuable lesson that revenge was not what she needed here.

She ran out of time. The box was no longer blinking. She tried to press it frantically afterwards before it left the screen hoping that it would do something. She didn’t know what was happening but saying stop, telling the maniac to stop whatever it was, probably a good thing.

Too bad it was quite literally too little too late.

\---

Chris didn’t think first. He saw the tip of it moving, following Ashley and acted. Using their cuffed hands he yanked her to him and pinned her to the wall in a very different way then he’d thought about earlier. Because he just couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t see it happen. It would hurt him much more than the stream that collided into his back for what felt like forever but was probably only a second. It was fast and hard so it hurt.

It was water like he guessed, which was both good and bad. It was steaming hot, not cold but it wouldn’t stay that way, not in there. He was bigger than Ashley so what would have drenched her only covered his back. He actually felt better but was terrified by the thought that it could only get worse from here.

“Oh my god,” she stretched out slowly, “Chris why…? Why would you do that, you dingus?”

There was no reason not to. He had run out if time. They were most likely going to die or at least he was after that. There was no real risk. Whatever happened would never leave this room. There was nothing to lose and something huge to gain in the last hours of his life. So without a word Chris leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers in a hard open mouthed kiss.

She must have been as desperate for it as he was since her tounge met his almost immediately and she responded to him pressing up against her by pushing herself into his chest to deepen their kiss. Her lips were cold but everything else about the kiss was hot. It felt so satisfying to have her tiny body in his hands again. His hard-on throbbed at the contact between their bodies calling his attention as it felt amazing to finally, finally after all these years, be kissing Ashley.

Which is why he didn’t stop.

\---

Emily, the bitch, had gotten Jessica much closer to the whirling rig than she had gotten Emily. It was whirling non-stop at that point. Guess this psycho didn’t think they were being entertaining enough on their own and need the encouragement. It had been the thing that made Jess stumble and given Emily the upper hand. They were silent as they pulled roughly. They couldn’t spare the energy to yell.

Jess was terrified what would happen once she hit the device. She was tired, regretting useing her energy earlier to fool around with Mike. She knew that was dumb because it a) probably didn’t play a part in her current strength level and b) she could not have known then that this would be happening.

Mike. She had thought about him a lot. How could she have known it would piss of her friend? Emily had dumped him. She said had told Jess that being with him reminded her of Hannah and what she had done to her. That she couldn’t touch him without feeling guilty, they couldn’t talk about it and he wanted to talk. He felt so bad about it.

Jess knew that. When all this started Mike would have done just about anything to make it up to Hannah. It tore him apart. Jess had actually seen him cry over it. He beat himself up a lot. She had worked so hard to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. He was a great guy and of course Hannah liked him but that didn’t mean he had to like her. That maybe the prank was mean but how could they have known that Hannah liked Mike to that extreme a level? That she would fall into such a dark place afterward? That it would end up hurting them all?

They were a bunch of drunk teenages.

At some point they got over the Hannah thing. They could do no more than they had done. Mike liked Jess. He said he liked her, that she got him. She understood how he felt and would listen to him. They made peace with that. When you spend so much of your time with someone it’s hard not to end up falling for them. He did fall for her and she him. Emily had gone on dates with Matt by then. It looked like the two were headed to being coupled up. It wasn’t her fault it didn’t happen that way. But Emily had insisted many times was so over Mike. Yet she had let out a screech like a banshee when she caught them kissing on Jess’ porch swing. She yelled at Jess that Matt had turned her down and she had come there for support only to find Jess betraying her.

She had been confused. She didn’t expect Emily to be jumping for joy over it, but the silence that followed was still a surprise. It wasn’t too long after that she overheard Beth and Emily talking about the science fair when she went to go try (for maybe the hundredth time) to get the youngest Washington to say more then two words to her

“I need a partner Beth,” she heard Emily say leaned on the locker next to her, “So do you, neither of us have the time to go it alone.”

“I know Emily it’s just...”

“I get you are still mad about the thing with Hannah,” Emily assured, “She’s your sister.”

Beth sighed as if frustrated, “I know that it was more on Jess, but you didn’t have to go along with it.”

To Jess’ horror, rather than take responsibility for her part in the prank Emily said with complete sincerity in her voice, “I know I shouldn’t have agreed but I get jealous so easily, I know you get like that too. We’ve all seen you when Sam used to go to school dances on Josh’s arm.”

Beth sighed again, “I guess it would be tempting if someone offered to do something like that on my behalf and I guess I can’t stay mad at you forever.”

Then Emily and Beth were friends again. Jess saw them laughing together and working in the library side by side. It was bullshit! They were only friends cause Jess had been friends with them both and wanted her two besties to get along. All because Jess was with Emily’s EX-boyfriend.

Jessica locked eyes with the girl across from her. She wanted to cry. She cared about Beth. She cared about Emily. She cared about Mike. Why wasn’t she allowed to do all of those? Why did she have to pick? Why did Emily make her pick? Emily claimed Jess stole Mike from her but the truth was Emily had stolen Beth from Jess.

Jessica was tired of fighting. She was so tired of pushing for things she would never have, that could never be. Hannah would never forgive her. She would never have Emily and Beth’s friendship back. She could never be with Mike guilt free. She could never force life back to the way it was before. She had made one stupid big mistake and it had ruined her life.

‘Why am I even still fighting this?’ was the last thing she thought as she dropped her arms and allowed her former best friend to drag her to her punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Jess my beautiful daughter. My sweet summer child. Don’t give up.
> 
> ***Note: Any and all comments containing Ashley hate will be deleted.***


	7. Glitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheating might be the only way to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time I know (well for me) but here it is.
> 
> No beta, mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy

“Matt?” Hannah’s voice said again after the whole clip had played a second time. It kept repeating every few moments. Hannah standing there, arms crossed over her unbuttoned blouse as she called his name in shock, in hurt, in confusion. Then it looped back to her undoing her buttons before they all came out of hiding. She called his name again. Shock, hurt, confusion. Over and over again.

He doesn’t know how long he watched it. Stood next to the projector and saw what he had caught on his camera. Seeing her like this again, like he had through that lens. Before Sam came in and she ran off. She never said Matt’s name again. She never shouted it across campus to say ‘hello.’ She never called him up excited to share something. She’d never said his name in a whole year before tonight and it had been the last thing she said to him. His name.

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

How many times did he listen to her say it? 

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

How many times did he picture her saying it in any other context but this one?

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

“Matt?”

Saying it in a joyous laugh when he tickled her.

“Matt?”

Shouting it in excitement as she bounded down the stairs to hug him.

“Matt?”

Crying it, tears in her eyes when her date to the Spring Fling dance took off with another girl.

“Matt?”

Gasping it in surprise when he beat the front teeth out of that same guy next Monday at school.

“Matt?”

Sighing it after he finally worked up the nerve to kiss her for the first time.

He’s not sure what came over him. His hands flung out without him really knowing they were doing it and he shoved the table next to him hard. It smashed down onto the floor and the projector fell with it. He heard Hannah call his name one more time before the thing broke apart and the reel clattered away. His breath came out in heavy pants. How had this psycho even gotten this? Matt had erased it from his camera with Ashley right next to him in front of Hannah’s door. He then gave the SD card to Beth and Josh to give Hannah as a show of good faith. So she knew no one would ever see it again.

Stomping over he smashed the film under his feet a few times, his steps heavier and heavier every time until he was basically jumping on it. Then he got to his knees, pulled at the film and ripped it to shreds piece by fucking piece. So long as he was alive no one would ever see the worst and most embarrassing moment of his and Hannah’s lives. Never again.

Adrenaline and anger were still pumping through him after he had destroyed everything left of the reel. So much he turned and with strength he didn’t know he had picked up the projector and hurled it across the room. It smashed into the wall creating a large crack. It felt good even if it didn’t dispel any of his hot pumping rage. He picked the table back up and swung it to the wall as well. It broke loudly against the weak surface and made the crack in the wall even larger. He still wasn’t done though. He was still so very anger. Having nothing else to chuck he ran shoulder out towards the wall.

He slammed into it and it hurt and he didn’t care. Sobs busted from his mouth both from the pain and from how scared he was. He cried worried about himself and worried about Hannah. He punched his fists against the wall feeling it crack more and more as he did. He was useless. Useless to all his friends trapped somewhere in this hell. He was stuck in here and he would never find any of them, if they were even alive. This voice had been a lie. So who knew if Hannah or Ashley or Emily or anyone else Matt cared about was anywhere near. Near enough that he could do something.

He stopped and supported himself on the wall, his hands a chalky white and throbbing. Chalky white? Like drywall? Matt was hitting dry wall. Matt looked at his hands and then the wall. It was crumbling.

Matt knew exactly at that moment why cartoons used light-bulbs to show a stroke of brilliance. He felt like his whole mind had lit up. Though his hands still hurt he dug them into the old, weak foundation of the wall in front of his. When it became too much he picked up a leg from the table and banged it into the place he felt loosening. Soon he had a hole through to the next room. The sheet he felt breaking was falling away more and more. His muscles screamed for him to stop but finally he got a strong hold on the edge so he yanked backward. A chunk of the wall broke off and fell to the floor. It was not very big but Matt with his lean body would probably just barely be able to make it through.

Besides anything was better than staying locked in a room thick with the stench of his betrayal.

\---

Hannah had thrown the device across the room as soon as she saw through it Chris get slammed in the back with something that made him cry out. She had been completely dissociating and maybe she was still mad at Ashley and maybe even hated her, but she had found that torturing them all, her “friends,” did not make her feel better. If anything it made her feel worse.

To see the look of pain on Mike’s face as he struggled on all fours. The anger that seeped out of every word he said to her. The fear in Chris and Ashley’s eyes as the water pipe was lowered from the ceiling. The way Ashley had jumped back, the scream Chris had emitted. The way Jess and Emily fought and cursed and struggled for their safety. The way Matt cried out to her.

None of it felt good. She had buried her head in her hands to cry. It was too much for her. She hated this ‘game.’ She wanted to stop playing. She wanted to end it. To end everything. To go back in time and forgive her friends. To undo all of this. To never have done it in the first place.

She sat up and leaned her head against the wall after that thought. Undo it. She wanted to undo it all. How many times had she heard that over the last year? ‘Hannah, I’m sorry. I wish I could undo it all.’ She knew. Five hundred times. A hundred times from each of them. Was… was this how they felt? After what they did to her? Was this temporary joy followed by heavy guilt and pain what they felt when all was said and done? Did they feel this way? All this time had the people she came to distrust and hate felt the way she did right then?

If so, she felt even worse for not accepting their apologies. For not giving them her forgiveness. If this was how they felt for the last year then they had deserved that from her.

Hannah was pulled from her thoughts by the loud banging on the wall beside her. She crawled away in fear as it continued on. She felt she should have gotten to her feet and ran, but was frozen. It was getting louder and more frequent until finally:

“Fuck,” he yelled falling to the ground beside her as if the wall had just birthed him and he was crying his first cry into the world. The figure struggled to his feet and dusted himself off and she couldn't help herself after he did.

“Matt!” she cried stumbling in her rush to get on her feet and to him. He got a weird look on his face when he heard her, but it fell into relief when he looked her way. She barreled into him and he caught her tightly in his arms as if he planned on never letting go. They hugged each other with a crushing strength for a very long time before she finally pulled back. Tears in both their eyes.

“Oh my god, Matt,” She heard the relief in her own voice, “I have been looking for you all night. I am so happy that you’re okay.”

“Not sure okay is the right word,” he breathed out heavily, “But I’m still moving.”

“I see that.” His hands were on her shoulders and hers were on his chest. Were this a scene in a movie and not a terrifying reality Hannah was sure they would’ve kiss at that moment. Which might be why she was a little less shocked when that was exactly what Matt did.

His mouth was still salty from crying and he was dusty so it hurt her nose to be breathing it in. It was a hard, wet kiss that she thought would be over much sooner than it was. She didn’t even close her eyes, far too caught off guard that Matt was kissing her. He pulled back and went immediately red as if he hadn’t been the one to initiate it.

“I was worried,” he tried to explain. She nodded.

It wasn’t that she had never thought about Matt in this way. She’d actually wondered a lot what it might be like for her to date him. She used to think all the time he would probably be the perfect boyfriend. He was the exact kind of guy she would like to be with. He was certainly very attractive too with his warm smile and his soft eyes and his body (which at the moment was very close to her own) so lean and fit from football. So it wasn’t that he couldn’t (or didn’t) get Hannah all hot and bothered. It wasn’t even that he was basically her closest friend after Sam and her siblings. It had always been that, well… He wasn’t Mike. That had always been Matt's fatal flaw in this department.

But smiling down at her in the dark like this where things were scary and uncertain and he was the best thing she could depend on, that didn’t feel like such a big issue anymore.

She hadn’t said anything, (and truthfully she didn’t know what to do or say to him) in awhile so finally he released her. He stepped back and Hannah was not surprised she missed his body as soon as it wasn't touching hers anymore. He looked around the hall and cleared his throat before his face settled into a very serious look. Her heart fluttered a bit because Matt could pull off intense eyes without problem.

“We need to try and find out what happened to the others,” he decided, “Who knows where they are or what is happening to them.”

“Ooh,” she chimed up excitedly, “I know! Well, kinda.” 

Hannah rushed in the direction she had thrown the iPad and Matt was only a step behind her. She dug it out from under some debris it have fallen under when she tossed it. When she flipped it around though it was completely dark and no matter how many times she pressed the button nothing showed up on the small screen. She tilted it and when the light shined across it she saw one long winding crack and then in the corner a few smaller ones in a spider web shape.

“Oh no,” she cried hitting the thing with her hand as if that would help, “No, no, no, no.”

“What?” Matt asked confused.

“I can’t see them anymore,” she cried out before she explained, “I could see you all with this earlier.”

“This maniac has cameras on us?!” Matt began looking around desperately as if to find them.

“I don’t know where he has them all, but he did have some on you and Mike and one on Chris and Ashley and one on Emily and Jess,” she told him still clutching the device as if it would miraculously start working again.

“Well where was the last place you saw everyone?” 

“Chris and Ashley are in one of those big freezers, and Jess and Emily are tied together somewhere,” she said feeling the shame well up in her cheeks, hoping he wouldn’t ask.

“What about the others?”

“I haven’t seen Sam or my brother or sister.”

“And Mike?” He did ask.

“He’s hurt,” she supplied not willing to give up anything else. How could she tell Matt what she had done to their friend even if at this stage neither of them were crazy about him?

“Well,” Matt said pointing for her to indicate which way she had come from so they could keep searching the other way, “Let’s hope we find him first.”

Hannah really hoped they didn’t.

\---

“You aren’t fighting back?” Emily said as she stopped moving, opting to hold herself in place instead. She was ready though to start moving if Jess was trying to catch her off-guard. But Jess made no move to do anything. She was limp and weak, barely pulling back from their torture machine. She had gone completely relaxed as if accepting this was the end.

“What’s the point?” Jess cried out, “You’re gonna win. I’m not as good as you. I’ll never be as good as you ever. That’s why Beth forgave you and not me! Because you’re just a better person than I am.”

“Drop the ‘poor me’ act,” Emily bit back. Jess was not about to distract her by playing the sympathy card. Emily was not going to fall for her traps like all the boys who tripped over themselves to cater to her every whim. Emily was smarter than that.

But Jess said nothing. The only noises she made as the rig yanked her closer every few seconds was crying and sniffling. Emily stared at her to see real tears in her eyes. Jess was biting her lip as if to stifle her cries. She looked so small and broken. She looked so vulnerable. She looked tired. And for the first time in a long time, Emily felt bad for Jessica.

“I can’t put it on you,” Jess finally gasped out, “I did it cause I liked Mike, but you knew that. It was dumb and selfish, but I just wanted him and I couldn't have him cause he was yours. Then Hannah took it so badly and Beth hated me. It was just a joke. I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody. Not you, or Hannah, or Beth or Matt and god especially not Mike.”

Emily’s own grip slackened when she heard Jess confess what she had known already. Jess had not done it for Emily, but for herself. Strangely that didn’t make her mad so much as it made her relieved. It lifted a weight off her chest.

“And you’ve been doing the right thing,” Jess continued, “Trying to work things out with Hannah.”

“Because I have to,” Emily cut her off, “Jess even if it was your idea, even if you were the one who orchestrated it, none of us are innocent. I could have stopped you. I could have stopped Mike. I could have done a lot of things I didn’t.”

“And I shouldn’t have put it all on you either," she finished, “Especially not to Beth. It wasn’t fair.”

Emily admitted it both to Jess and herself. She had in many ways thrown Jess under the bus when it came to the prank. She was ready to tell everyone Jess had put her up to it. It was Jess’ idea. Jess wrote the note. Jess got Matt to record it on camera. Jess convinced them all to hide. Jess had talked Mike into going along. Jess had done it, all of it. And she had done it for herself not Emily.

But no, Emily had told Hannah the truth earlier. She knew whatever was happening with him and Jess or him and Hannah or him and any girl was on Mike. Mike was to blame. Mike was the one who got his ego boost from girls fawning over him. Mike could have stopped any and all flirtations that came his way and just didn’t. Even though he knew it bothered Emily. 

She had made Hannah suffer for that. Not Mike, Hannah. Once Mike and her broke up and he ended up with Jessica, she had made Jess suffer for that. She couldn't bring herself to blame Mike for any of it. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe because as much as she hated to admit it, a piece of her still loved him and a piece of her wanted him back. She needed to accept that so she could move on from it.

Part of that was making amends with Hannah, but the other half was making amends with Jess.

“You aren’t a bad person,” she said loudly hoping to make Jessica believe it, “You’re not some devil or if you are then you’re in good company cause I am too.”

Jess shook her head, she was still crying and Emily saw her vision blur as her own tears fell. What else was there to say? Everything sounded like lie. ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I miss you,’ ‘I fucked up.’ Nothing she said would convey these things to Jess. They would sound like the empty promises of someone desperate at what might be the end of their life. What could make Jess understand Emily wanted to be done with hating her and fighting and everything terrible that had happened over the last year?

Then with a sigh Emily dropped her hands and relaxed her body. Jess’ side got some slack from the sudden change but soon both girls were being dragged towards the center of the room and that deadly rig at a steady speed. 

“What are you doing?!” Jess gasped. 

“Same as you,” Emily replied. Jess had no response for that. She and Emily locked eyes. She had thought the two of them had lost the ability to talk with no words. However looking at each other she knew that was wrong. There was still fear and panic and concern on both their faces, but there was also stern and strong determination 

Together in that moment the two of them agreed that whatever was going to happen when their hands hit the machine they would not subject the other to it alone. Whatever torture they would befall they were both willing to suffer it so they other wouldn’t have to. They would each take the pain in stride. 

Because that was what best friends did.

\---

Hannah stayed attached to Matt’s arm as he continued down the hall leading her further into the ruined hotel. They had stopped because Hannah noticed Matt’s bare bleeding feet and even if it didn’t help much she had given him her slippers to wear. She still held the device in her other hand to her chest as if it would start working again any second and they would once more have a guide to finding the others.

“Hannah,” he whispered and she is not sure why, maybe because now he knew there could be cameras anywhere around them, “Help me get this door open.” 

She released him and they leaned against the double doors until they separated to let them in. The doors slammed shut behind them, but it seemed to be from the weight. They looked at it before they turned their gazes back to each other. Hannah could see they were both very scared, but at least they weren’t alone anymore. Then Matt’s eyes went behind her head and she followed his stare. She found they were in a restaurant sized kitchen. Once that dawned on her she saw what Matt was looking at.

“The freezer,” he said pushing passed her and running to the large door, “You said Chris and Ashley were in a freezer, right?”

She nodded but Matt was already banging on the door. Hannah was relieved but also pretty nervous about seeing Chris and Ashley. After what she did, or didn’t do, she could not imagine this would be a completely pleasant reunion. Matt kept banging a few more times calling, “Chris! Ashley! Can you hear me?”

They waited neither able to breath for some torturous seconds before they heard in Ashley’s voice, “Matt? Matt, is that you?”

“Yeah,” he said with another strange look before he reached up to unfasten the lock, “Is Chris in there with you?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” Hannah heard her almost brother call. “We’re freezing, you have to get us out of here.”

“Hold on,” he said pulling the door open as quickly as he could. He and Hannah looked inside to see Chris and Ashley looking weak and tried and blushing..? A lot. A whole lot. They were both red from ears to neck. Maybe their skin had flushed from the cold. Matt secured the door open once he noticed their friends were chained to the wall.

“Make sure this stays open,” he said to Hannah as he dashed away and started searching the drawers.

“Alright,” she called back to him. 

She looked to Chris and Ashley, but they weren’t looking at her or even at each other. In fact they both seemed quite interested in their feet. The tension was thick and the cold air made her want to shiver. She fought against it as Ashley’s words about her being spoiled echoed in her head. She heard Matt rummaging and knocking stuff around though she didn’t know what he was hoping he would find. Eventually he rushed back carrying a few assorted things. A butcher’s knife, one of those hammers cooks use on meat and a few other things in that vain. He ran passed her and in by Chris and Ashley.

“It might take us awhile to bust through,” he said as Chris leaned next to him and Matt handed him one of the many heavy items he'd brought in with him, “But there is no key so best get to work.” 

“Oh give me that," Chris said and Hannah could not see what they were doing but Chris sounded like his regular confident self so she was not too worried, “I think if we pull this pin thing through one of the loops we can use the leverage to pop it loose.”

Hannah listened as the two guys used all the strength they had to loosen on of the loops on Chris’ chain so it would break apart. Ashley was forced to kneel by them due to her hand bring cuffed to Chris’. Hannah had to stay by the door and make sure it didn’t close. This made her feel quire ridiculously as if they were leaving her out of something. It wasn’t the time for such thoughts and besides Matt would never do that to her, especially after he-

It probably wasn’t the best time to be thinking about that either.

Hannah was waiting for the voice to boom up. She knew he could see into this room. He must not have been watching their camera and instead was doing something else. The thought of what he might have been doing made a chill race down her back. She wanted to tell Matt and Chris to hurry up but feared it would distract them. Finally after a long time of waiting and Hannah holding her breath as she listened for the maniac’s voice there was a sharp clang. Somehow the guys had managed to break one on the links and were trying to wiggled it loose from the rest of the chain.

Soon Chris and Ashley were standing again and Hannah just barely heard the brief exchange between the two guys where Matt offered to try and break apart their cuffed hands and Chris insisted that could wait and they should get out of there. Matt agreed and in no time the four of them were back in the kitchen. 

“We need to find everyone else,” Chris said though Ashley looked as if she didn’t agree with that idea. She did not argue though (she didn't have much choice as she was fastened to Chris by their wrists). She simply pulled Chris' sweater tighter around her.

“That’s the plan.” Matt closed and locked the door before he turned to the others and led them the way he and her had been going when they found them. Hannah felt sure Matt could keep them all safe.

\---

“You’re thinking about her aren’t you?”

Beth looked over at her girlfriend who was sitting on the other side of the tub from her. Sam loved to take baths so Beth was not shocked she’d suggested they warm up by taking one the second after they each finished making the other scream a half dozen times. Not that Beth was complaining. Sam was naked with her perfect legs resting on Beth’s and her wet skin shining in the candle light. She was an angel. It should have been impossible for Beth to think of anything other then her and her body.

But no matter what her sister always came first.

“It feels wrong,” Beth confessed, “That we left her like we did.”

Because it was. Leaving her sister alone at the lodge with people she didn’t trust or even like much anymore was wrong. And no amount of love making she and Sam did was going to change that and it barely made her feel better. Truthfully in some ways it made things worse. Because Beth had not only left her twin in her time of need, she had also dragged her sister’s best friend away.

Awkward as it might have been it wasn’t like she and Sam couldn't have had sex in her room at the lodge if they really wanted to. It was very hard though, for her and Sam to be a couple around Hannah. It clearly made her uncomfortable and she wasn’t good at hiding that. If she was even trying to hide it. Maybe she wanted them to know how badly this affected her. It wasn’t like Beth planned on “stealing” her sister’s friend. They fell for each other because they did. Hannah was not a factor at all in her and Sam’s relationship. But then maybe that was the problem.

“She would been all pouty if we stayed,” Sam reminded Beth, “You know how Hannah gets when she thinks everyone is treating her like a baby.”

“Yeah but I think we should have just dealt with it,” Beth insisted running her hand along Sam’s ankle in thought. Sam splashed some water at her and Beth turned to look at her face again. She was smiling in a comforting way but it didn’t help much so she returned her gaze to the light bouncing off the water.

“You’re right,” she heard Sam sigh, “We should pack up and head back. Knowing those party animals they are probably still up and drunk off their asses.”

Then before Beth could answer Sam lifted her leg from the water and poked Beth gently in the face with her little toes. “You are lucky. Most girls might be upset if they knew you couldn’t stop thinking about another girl while naked with them in the tub.”

“Not sure my sister counts as me thinking of another woman.”

“I suppose not,” Sam sighed sliding her legs off Beth's so they could get out.

“And it could be worse,” Beth teased as Sam climbed out of the tub, “You could be thinking about my sister while we’re naked in the tub.”

“Beth!” Sam yelled reaching back to smack water into her face, “Eww.”

Then she followed after her girlfriend to dry, dress, pack and hike back to her sister’s side where they both belonged that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look Sam and Beth came back for like a minute.


	8. Unlockable Characters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best ones are the ones that were hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bitch. It's really long. I'm tired

The two girls hand in hand made their way back towards the lodge with their backpacks on. They were silent as they did. That was fine. They were probably both too focused on Hannah to really strike up a conversation about anything but her. Sam had a feeling deep down they were both feeling pretty guilty for leaving her. Beth was looking at the night sky and somehow that looked ominous.

“It’s quiet,” Beth observed as she and Sam walked. Sam looked around like Beth already was. Then she laughed and pulled Beth closer by their hands.

“We’re outside in the middle of the night,” Sam whispered with mirth trying to hide her own feeling of dread settled in her gut, “Even most animals are asleep.”

Beth nodded but she didn’t look convinced, “It just feels eerily quiet. I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”

“You mean other than us taking off on Hannah?” Sam asked but something about it… It didn’t feel like the right answer. It felt like there was more to it. More than Hannah and she could see that Beth felt that way too. They couldn’t both break down though. One of them needed to stay on top of things. 

“Yeah,” Beth said looking away and her grip loosened from Sam’s, “Other than that.”

Sam’s felt like her gaze was boring into the side of her girlfriend’s head. She was trying hard not to judge her or be judged by her. It wasn’t a new feeling. It came up from time to time. It started not long after she and Beth got together. Not long after Hannah’s face had gone stone cold as she said ‘good for you guys’ through almost grit teeth. She mellowed out after that. Mostly. Sam thought maybe, mostly likely she had. There was no way she was still mad almost a year later.

“She said it was okay,” Beth reasoned. Sam could hear the forced justification in her tone. From the look on her face Beth knew they both heard it.

“She did say that.” Sam looked at the ground, nodding. “She’s been saying it.”

Sam sighed because this was a topic they always tried hard not to breech. Hannah. At least when it came to them. To their relationship. Hannah was thought of as an individual to both of them. She was someone to each Sam and Beth, but not really someone to the couple of Sam and Beth. They had this tendency to talk about Hannah, to think of Hannah, as Beth’s sister or Sam’s best friend. But never to think of her as Beth’s sister and Sam’s best friend.

“I’m just not sure this is what she needs right now,” Sam admitted, “Maybe it was selfish of us.”

Beth shoved her free hand in her pocket. They didn’t talk about any of this. It was always so hard to talk about. It had happened so soon after the prank. It had never felt all that fair to Hannah. Which is probably why they never thought about Hannah when they were together like this.

“I know we didn’t do it to spite her and I’m not saying we should break up but we could have done all this better.” Sam forced herself to continue. She felt Beth’s hand slip out of her own. They weren’t a couple anymore. Not that they were broken up, but in moments like these, in moments about Hannah, they weren’t a pair. Instead they floated in this limbo of knowing the only two solutions here were to talk about it or break up and they were unwilling to do either. So they existed here until it faded into the background once again. Until it was a quiet hum in the back of their minds, like it usually was.

“Hannah would be just as upset if she knew we wanted to be together and weren’t and you know that,” Beth argued. Sam felt her trying to drop the conversation. Things were too high energy here on this icy mountaintop for it to just be dropped. Sam could feel the things she wanted to say being pushed out.

“Okay but maybe we should talk to her more then,” Sam reasoned, “We need to stop acting like this, us, is outside of the world that involves Hannah. We have to stop acting like we can’t be us around her and the three of us have to figure out a way for us to be together and for Hannah to be okay. We can’t ignore it forever.”

Beth sighed heavily, “I hate when you’re right.”

“But not tonight,” Beth continued before Sam could push the issue more, “Hannah has enough to deal with already. This isn’t the time to add to it.”

Sam felt skeptical and it must have shown on her face because Beth sighed again and added, “I promise we will deal with it when we get home.”

Sam smiled in Beth’s direction. Her girlfriend didn’t promise things and not deliver on them. She’d do anything for Sam. She reached for Beth’s hand but was unable to take it before Beth raced forward on the trail. Sam followed her with her eye line and quickly ran after her. Beth had stopped next to a large pile up in the path. It was twice Sam’s height at least. Beth and her looked at each other.

“This wasn’t here when we left,” Beth said unnecessarily. The two had been giddy and flirty the whole walk up, but there was no way they would have missed this. The rocks, trees and snow that made a barrier back to the lodge. Sam squat to look at it while Beth walked the length of it. It didn’t look the least bit sturdy. 

“It’s not too high,” Sam said, looking over at the other girl. They were strong and great athletes and they could easily scale it if Sam could guarantee they would not fall and she couldn’t, “But I don’t think it will hold. We climb this and we will almost definitely fall and break our necks or even worse.”

Beth nodded though her eyes were looking at the side opposite the cliff edge with curiosity. Sam stood to join her again. Beth was studying it closely. She had her thinking face on so Sam waited while she was trying to figure out whatever she was trying to. Finally she turned pointing toward the inner edge.

“There are clean breaks,” she said, “These were cut, not all the way but they were cut weak enough to either fall over or...”

“Be pushed,” Sam finished. Beth looked behind her as if scared. She took Sam’s hand but Sam guessed it was for a very different reason than romance.

“What do we do?” Sam asked. 

“We can either go back to the cabin or find a way around all this,” Beth answered. Sam felt worried about both those things. Sam followed her gaze but even without looking she knew they were both thinking the same thing. Whoever, whatever, had blocked the path had known they were at the cabin. Or at least it was a good bet. On top of that they were pretty close to the lodge already.

“I think I saw a cave or something back a few feet,” Sam decided walking that way and unintentionally pulling Beth forward.

“Yeah, there used to be miners here. Some dig sites are left over. Dad is still trying to get them filled.”

“Well it probably loops around and comes out near the lodge at some point, right?” Sam said as they reached the opening. Beth moved her head from side to side considering it. 

“I mean maybe.”

They headed inside holding hands. They stayed close for the first few feet into the crevice. As they adjusted to the cold space they drifted apart little by little. They held flashlights in their free hands and Sam checked one side while Beth the other. Neither payed their front enough attention. So when they came to the weak break in the track they didn’t notice it until Sam felt the ground give out beneath her.

“Beth!” she cried as she dragged the other girl down by her hand. They broke apart only once a solid wall of rock hit their hands and the pain made them release the other. Sam slid down basically smooth wet stone. She slid for a long time and considering her speed she fell far. She was lucky enough that she remembered to curl her body in like her parents taught her to do so when she hit the ground it was mostly in a relaxed state. She struggled fast back onto her feet.

“Beth!” she cried upward. No answer. 

“Beth!” Still nothing. Was she hurt? Was she knocked out? Was she-

Sam rushed forward, launched herself up and tried to get a strong grip on the cave wall. She had been climbing since she could walk and her family joked it was from that Drake blood pumping in her veins. She made it maybe five feet up before there were no more near enough indents to grab. Bending her legs to give herself some spring she leaped up reaching for the closest rock. Her fingers missed it by only a few inches so after she tumbled back to the ground she rolled back onto her feet and tried again. Her hand grazed it enough the fourth time it wiggled and after balancing a moment fell to the ground. Sam wasn’t even sure her father could scale a surface so smooth from years of water wearing it down.

“Beth!” she tried in vain one last time. Still nothing. If there was no up then there had to be an around. Even if she just made it back to the lodge, she could wake everyone else and get them to help her look for Beth. She didn’t like it at all, but what other choice did she have? Picking up her cracked flashlight (just the glass, the light still worked) she set off down the only open path, alone in the mines.

\---

No one talked as they walked. What was there to talk about? Hannah doubted Ashley or Chris had anything nice to say to her. They had spent a brief moment where Chris and Ashley wiggled his sweater over there hands so he could put it back on. Matt shook his jacket free off glass and dirt and wrapped it around Ashley’s shoulders. Hannah didn’t say it out loud but neither actually looked particularly cold.

Matt led that way with Hannah gripping his shirt from behind. She felt the large presence of Chris behind her and assumed Ashley was at the rear. They probably looked like the Scooby Doo gang tiptoeing close to the wall in a line one right behind the other. There was even a guy in green, a girl with red hair and a girl with glasses. An ascot for Matt would have made it almost a perfect match.

Hannah giggled before she slammed her hand over her mouth. It was too late though they’d heard her. There little line had froze and they all looked at her. Being sandwiched between Chris and Matt felt less like a safety net and more like being fenced in. Her eyes went to the ground. She was digging her feet in the dust. Why was she such a child?

“Something funny, Hannah?” Ashley asked and Hannah could hear disdain in her voice. She looked to Chris waiting for him to defend her (someone who was practically his sister). Just as he’d done in the freezer earlier. He turned his eyes away from her. It seemed he agreed with Ashley.

“Hey.” Matt jumped to her rescue. “Things are tense. Sometimes people laugh when they’re nervous. Lay off, Ash.”

Ashley did look like she felt guilty at least. Matt turned back around and they kept walking down the hall in their line. It wasn’t really the time to be thinking about her and Matt. It wasn’t really the time to be thinking about what that kiss meant. It wasn’t really the time to wonder what getting out of here would mean for them. But when he stood up for her like that and smiled back once or twice to assure her things would be okay as they continued their trek the soft flutter in her chest was hard to ignore.

Matt stopped very suddenly after he turned his eyes off her for the dozenth or so time. Hannah bumped into his back. Chris and Ashley managed to stop themselves in time to not bump into her. She saw them in the corner of her eyes come around to stand on the opposite side of the hall from where Matt was. and Hannah still holding onto his sleeve did as well. Their line had shifted and it was clear to see why.

Fork in the road. Two ways to go. A choice to be made. Hannah had had her fill of choices for a very long time. She held tightly onto Matt switching to holding his bicep rather than his shirt sleeve because Matt was the most solid thing she had at the moment. Matt was the one thing keeping her grounded. 

The guys were looking at each other as if talking between them with their minds. Ashley looked no more willing to make a choice then her. Beth would be annoyed at her and Ashley for letting the guys take charge. Though Hannah couldn’t care less about the patriarchy there and then.

“What do we do?” Chris finally asked. Matt sighed.

“Splitting up feels like a bad idea,” he answered. Chris nodded but then looked back and forth between the halls.

“This maniac could have more traps anywhere though,” Chris reasoned. Matt nodded this time. 

“And he’s got cameras who knows where,” Matt added. Chris went dark red after that statement. Hannah would swear his face lit up the hallway.

“Yeah.” They met eyes and it seemed they each came to a decision they knew the other wouldn’t like.

“We have to find everybody,” Chris said.

“Exactly,” Matt argued, “Us four just got back together. We stand a better chance if we’re all looking.”

“Which is why it makes more sense for us to go opposite ways.”

“You said yourself this guy could have traps anywhere.”

“And it’s better two of us get caught then all of us.”

Matt sighed. He was a gut instincts guy. If he felt something he trusted it. Chris looked reluctant as if he hated the idea as much as Matt did. As if it was the last thing he wanted, himself. Hannah knew Chris didn’t work on his emotion alone though, he put his mind first. He was logical and reasonable. Which meant he was probably right.

“I agree with Chris,” she said looking at Matt. He met her gaze confused and so she explained, “It’s not like any of us will be alone and he’s right, Matt. If we all get caught then nobody stands a chance here, not us and not the others. Besides they could be anywhere. If we go one way and they’re the other then we’ll just be further away from helping them.”

Matt sighed again shaking his head. Ashley finally turned to the group and looked at all of them in turn.

“Let’s compromise,” she said, “We’ll split up and we’ll each walk a bit of a ways down the hallways. Then we will meet up back here in say about a half hour. If the others aren’t here after a few minutes then we’ll know that they either found something or they’re in trouble.”

“Then what?” Matt asked. 

Chris shrugged. “Guess we figure it out from there.”

Chris then turned his gaze to Ashley then back to Matt and Hannah as he held up their conjoined wrists and, maybe in an attempt to lighten the mood with a little of humor, said, “Well as neither me or Ashley are Mr. Fantastic, I think our pair ups are pretty self explanatory.”

Matt smiled a little and then he wrapped an arm around Hannah and steered her down the left hallway. She looked back to see Chris and Ashley heading down the opposite path. Chris also looked back and they saw each other. She was worried for him and could see he was worried for her. He probably felt a little responsible for her with Josh not around. It caused both a warmth to spread from her stomach to the rest of her torso and a chill to run from her shoulders to her toes. As she faced forward once again she hoped this wasn’t the last time she saw him.

\---

“Chris?” she wasn’t sure what made her call to him once they’d made it maybe ten minutes in their search. They hadn’t said a word to each other since… since.

“Yeah?” he asked back, turning her way for half a second before he was back to looking around and down the hall. She glanced at their cuffed hands. In any other circumstance he’d be holding her hand.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“I don’t think talking about it is needed,” he said slowly.

“We can’t just not talk about it?” she reasoned as she let him lead her down the hall. Not that she really had a choice with their hands attached. 

“What’s there to talk about?” he asked harshly. She looked at him in disbelief before she yanked their hands until he turned her way.

“Don’t do this,” she bit. He looked angry.

“Do what?” he asked through his teeth. If she could cross her arms she would.

“This stupid retreat into your shell thing you do every time things go a little too far with you and me. You can’t do it this time. Not with this.”

He huffed out a heavy breath but said nothing. His face burned red and his hair was still a tiny bit damp from sweat. They had been sweating a lot earlier when things had gotten very hot in a very literal way.

“You can take back our less than innocent cuddle sessions. You can take back a romantic slow dance. You can take back grabbing my ass after a few too many beers.” She was yelling at him and didn’t care, “But no Chris, you can’t take this back.”

He looked away from her as if he was denying it, all of it, including tonight without saying anything.

“You can’t pretend this didn’t happen.” She’d moved on to almost crying. “This was too important.”

“What do you want me to say?” Chris was yelling this time though it didn’t seem like it was at her, “Tell me what to say, Ashley! ‘I’m so happy?’ Or ‘I love you?’ Huh?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Should I carry on pathetically about how special it was? Should tell you it was fucking magical?”

“No.” Her voice was getting quieter as his got louder.

“I know let’s go with a cliché,” he said as if he had come up with a great idea before he leaned in close and asked very sarcastically, “Was it good for you?”

Chris deserved her hard backhand slap across his face. No one could ever convince Ashley otherwise. Apparently despite the look of pain on his face, he seemed to agree with her.

“Sorry,” he said much more quietly, “I shouldn’t have said that. Any of that.”

She sort of smiled through her tears, “You’re kind of a huge dick sometimes you know that?”

“You weren’t exactly complaining about this huge dick an hour ago.” How she felt about that must have shown of her face because he added, “Sorry. Bad joke trying to break tension. Force of habit.”

“I meant it though,” he confessed then amended, “About not knowing what to say.”

“I don’t really know either.” 

They stopped at a large shaft absent of it’s elevator at the end of the hall. They should be heading back to meet up with Matt and Hannah soon. This wasn’t the time for any of this, but she couldn't put it off. She would never be able to keep her mind in the present unless at least part of all this was figured out. She was no use to anybody with her mind a million miles away.

“I mean no real surprise, but it wasn’t how I thought losing my virginity would be,” he finally admitted, “First of all the circumstances sucked. Half of the reason we did it was trying to prevent hypothermia. It felt wrong and not in the good way. And then there was the camera. Oh God, there was a camera. Who knows how many people saw us, how many people will see us, during something that private and personal.”

“On top of everything else let’s just add insult to injury,” Chris almost laughed, “I’m pretty damn sure Matt showed up before either of us got off.”

Yeah, that was true.

“And worst of all it was you.” That stung but she stayed quiet because he was almost crying by then. “That was not even remotely how I ever wanted it to happen with you.”

“But you wanted it to happen? With me?” There were so many more important things to worry about not just in the situation with their friends but regarding their feelings on what happened. That was the thing she latched onto though. Chris laughed in a bitter way that came out of his nose more than his mouth before he looked at her.

“Ashley, a blind, brain dead monkey could see I like you.” He said it as if it was a fact. “And I have pictured what it would be like to be with you like that a thousand times in a thousand ways. And yeah some of them were far more uh perverted than they were romantic but none of them were like this.”

“I get that,” she said because, well she did, “After all I was there too.”

She nodded and took a deep breath, “It feels degrading now that we’re out of it. I feel dirty and not in a sexy way. I can’t stop thinking about how he was probably watching us and it was some sick form of entertainment for him. I’m scared with what he’ll do with that video and of who will see it, of who will see us,” she paused, “Having sex.”

Ashley moved forward until she was basically against his chest and was looking up at him, “But Chris, it was still you. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t you. It happened because there’s feelings here, strong feelings and come on you can’t deny that we’re… that we’ve wanted each other for a long time.”

“So let’s try to forget this.” Chris looked defeated. She waved her hands between them and continued, “No, not this. I want this. But let’s try to forget that just happened. Nobody gets to decide these things for us. Nobody gets a say except for you and me. If we want this our way we’re allowed it.”

“Ashley, we can’t-”

“No Chris,” she said with force, “I changed my mind. We can take this back. We are taking this back. Fuck this psycho and fuck his cameras and fuck all of that shit. Next time it will be on our terms and nobody can take that from us.”

Chris was smiling a little shyly which was a stark contrast to his face beforehand, “Next time?”

Ashley blushed a little when her own words hit her, “Well I mean, I kinda think we’re owed a do over on this, don’t you?” 

“I suppose you have a point.”

“Besides, it wasn’t all bad.” Ashley felt her body go hot just thinking about the not so bad parts of it.

A glint shined in his eyes she was sure she’d seen before, earlier that night. “That I can agree with.”

Chris took her cuffed hand in his own and he might have been about to kiss her. She would never know because not even minute after he did it a bang echoed from in the elevator shaft beside them followed by the slam of metal hitting against wood. They looked over a bit afraid and their hands gripped tighter.

“Hello?” a familiar voice called up to them, “Anyone there? I thought I heard talking.”

“Sam?!” Chris asked getting onto his knees and dragging Ashley down with him. They peeked their heads inside. There she was in all her tiny, spunky glory. She had dirt in her hair and rips in her clothes, but she was alive.

“Chris, Ash?” she asked looking from one to the other, “Where are we and how did you get here?”

“How did you get here?” Ashley asked back.

“Never mind that,” Chris cut them both off, “Get up here and we can clear everything up.”

Sam nodded and then began to climb to them. It didn’t take her long to get close and even though she didn’t need it in the least they grabbed her one hand to help pull her out. She crawled out onto the floor between them and the three friends got to their feet. Ashley was so relieved to see her she threw her arms around her in a hug. She forgot this also dragged Chris forward. Sam backed up and looked from one to the other then down at their cuffed hands. Her eyebrows shot up.

“You two got kinky quick.”

“Sam where is Beth?” Chris asked ignoring what she said. 

“We got separated. I was trying to get back to the lodge…”

“We’re trying to do the same,” Ashley informed her, “After we find everyone else that it.”

“Everyone else?” Sam’s eyes went wide.

“Look,” Chris said pulling Ashley back the way they came. Sam seemingly on instinct followed them, “We have to get back to Hannah and Matt. We’ll explain on the way.”

\---

“Sam!” 

It was like the relief that comes when your parachute opens. There is still fear as you fall down towards the earth, but there is a blanket of safety you can trust to make things less scary, that you could trust to protect you. And to Hannah that was her best friend Sam, coming down the hall with Chris and Ashley.

“Oh my god, Hannah!” For the second time that night she found herself smacking into her friend in a powerful hug.

Sam had always been shorter than Hannah by quite a bit but she felt like a baby bird being soothed by her mama bird. She buried her face in Sam’s hair feeling tears slid down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms tightly around Sam’s shoulders and felt Sam pat her back with on arm still secured over her lower back to keep her steady. She knew she was bending Sam backwards but also knew her friend wouldn’t ever care about that. It felt like both a lifetime and a moment when she pulled back.

“I’m so happy you’re okay,” Hannah said a sob in her voice.

“Same,” Sam breathed, “I got the cliff notes version from Chris and Ashley. I’m so sorry Hannah.”

“Where’s Beth?” Once she settled Hannah realized her twin was not here. She had not appeared by Sam’s side. 

“We got separated, but don’t worry I don’t think this crazy guy got to her,” Sam said hands still on Hannah biceps, “I think he expected us to go back to the cabin so her probably doesn’t know we’re here at all.”

Hannah nodded, Sam’s bravery made her feel more confident her sister was okay. But what about Josh? There had been nothing indicating his presence all night. He was a missing link in this game. In danger or not she knew where they all were. Except for Josh.

Ashley and Matt were talking and Hannah presumed he was telling her and Chris what they had found. Sam looked over as Matt motioned for them all to follow. Hannah was a little torn between wanting to be close to Matt and wanting to be close to Sam. She settled in the later. She knew Matt was okay and she still needed some time to be sure of that with Sam. 

He led them done the short hall, they had found it only a few minutes after they separated and had been waiting for the others the rest of the time. When he reached the door again he struggled a little to pry it open without her help this time. He manged though and was done he was able to prop it open to show.

“Wires,” Sam commented taking a step forward. 

“A lot of them,” Matt confirmed pointing out the huge bundles running along the sides of this hall and disappearing through the ceiling. They all cautiously stepped in and looked around. She and Matt had not gone in when they arrived. Hannah watched her friends instead of looking around. Things were bad enough already, she didn’t want to think about how it could get worse. She looked at Chris and Ashley. They were giving each other a troubled look. It unnerve her.

“What?” she asked. They both looked at her. 

“These are new,” Ashley explained, “They haven’t been here probably a year yet let alone decades.”

“And they’re warm,” Chris added, “That means they’re either in use right now or just were.”

No one wanted to say what they were all thinking. Whoever was responsible for this, whoever this maniac was, whoever had done all this to them, was probably at the end of this hallway.

\---

They had expected him to give up. That bitch Hannah and her psycho friend. They had expected him to roll over and die. They expected him to crumble and curl into a ball until he was found. They expected him to fall apart. But fuck them and fuck their game and fuck what they expected because he wasn’t in the mood for playing around.

He’d crawled out of that on hands and knees. He’d pried a board loose from the wall to bust his way out of there. He was bleeding and sore. He was covered in splinters and was pretty sure something on him was broken. He was bare feet and until he managed to find an old janitor’s jumpsuit he’d been as naked as the day her was born.

Most of all though Michael Munroe was fucking pissed!

His adrenaline kept him going. The raw anger that coursed through him gave him strength he didn’t know was humanly possible. He rammed every door he found that was stuck ignoring the pain in his shoulders and torso. He was lucky enough at one point to acquire a large butcher knife and while as mad as he was he’d never use it on Hannah, the fucker who’d kidnapped and presumably tortured his friends though was an entirely different ballgame.

As soon as he found his friends, as soon as they were all safe, he was going to kill that crazy bastard.

For awhile he was traveling aimlessly, trying to follow sounds around him He listened to yelling he couldn’t discern words from. Matt’s name rang out from below him at one point. It was distant and muffled but there was a moment he knew he heard Chris scream out loudly in pain echoing in what must have been a large, empty room. Mostly though he listened for the voice. That scratchy jovial voice that had mocked him as if he was above Mike. As if Mike was a lowly worm and him a king.

So he had been straining his ears as he carefully navigated what at one had been a lavish hotel but had become a hellish labyrinth. Finally louder than anything he had heard and tried to chase down he heard a very mechanical noise. It was loud, yes but he could tell it was also close. Close enough for him to get to anyway. 

He took off that way at the top speed his body allowed which was still pretty fast. He ignored the debris he tripped and slid on. He coughed from dust he kicked into the air and though it hurt his lungs he did not let it deter him. His still bare feet smacked onto the ground over and over again, that and his coughs the only sounds other then the increasing mechanical sound.

Finally at the end of the hall he saw the door. It was that way. He just knew it was. He ran of it and once there he pulled on the handle with everything he had. It did not budge. He could hear that terrible noise louder than ever though. Something important had to be in there. He had to get into this room.

Backing up a bit to give him some force he went forward and slammed his foot right by the doorknob. While a painful shock shot up his leg the door did in fact slam open and in he went without thought.

“Mike?!”

“Michael?!”

They said it at the same time. Two beautiful girl, scared and out of breath. Two girls bound and crying. The only two girls in Mike’s life that he had ever honestly cared about. Emily Davis and Jessica Riley.

“The fuck-” He couldn’t finish. His mind was taking everything in as fast as it could. Scrapped bodies. Cameras. Small walls. Rope. A whirling machine in the center of the room. The source of the sound he had been following. The two of them almost naked, staring at him with wide begging eyes. They were barely a foot from the device. They were in danger.

“You have to do something.” That was Jess.

“Hurry, we don’t have much time.” That was Em.

Mike held up his knife and looked from one to the other. Did he have to pick? He couldn’t do this. Hard as it was to admit he loved them. He loved both of them. Not in the same exact way but he did. Jess was his world, his rock, the thing he could depend on, but Emily had been his first everything. They were both so important. They were both too important. He couldn’t do this.

The two must have seen the struggle on his face because the brief relief that had settled on their faces when he bulldozed in shifted back into terror. His face and his hand turned to one and then the other. Everything was standing still but also going so fast. He had to do something, before it was too late to.

“Cut Jess free, Mike,” Em yelled at him. He looked at her surprised to hear that. He thought it might have been his own mind but it couldn't be because Jess looked at her with the same face.

“No, Michael! Don’t,” Jess also yelled. 

“Are you crazy?” Em shouted this time at Jess

“I won’t abandon you again,” she almost cried it out “I won’t let you take punishment for me. I won’t let you face this alone. Not again.”

“No!” Jessica yelled, “I can’t hurt anyone. I can’t live with myself if I hurt someone I care about again. First Hannah and Beth. Now you. I can’t do it! I won’t do it!” 

“Don’t be stupid about this! Michael, cut her loose.” 

“Mike, if you cut anyone’s rope it better be Emily’s.”

His head span as they just kept going.

“Shut up!”

“You shut up”

“I’m trying to do the right thing here!”

“So am I!”

“We have time,” Mike finally yelled back, “There is no reason I can’t cut one of you loose and then the other one after!”

Em looked at them both before she said, “Then cut Jess first.”

He rushed over to cut it Jess’ rope but her face turned suspicious as she commanded, “Mike, stop!”

“You think if one of us is cut free the other will be yanked into the machine,” Jess accused. Em looked annoyed at her but she did not deny it. Mike looked down at the torture device. They were getting so close to it. There was not a lot of time left either he had to make a choice or they did. It had to be soon.

“You should use those brains more often,” Em yelled and it sounded like an insult.

“You can’t get me to change my mind!” Jess screamed. 

Mike couldn't take it. He slammed his knife down blindly without debating his choice another second. Whatever he hit was what he hit. That was the end of it.

What Mike hit was the side of the rig. Part of the panel pushed out. The girls were still yelling paying him no mind as they did. Mike pushed the knife down further until he had it far enough to leverage off. It clattered to the floor and that’s when they noticed what he was doing, he was taking a third option.

He couldn’t look at them, he needed to work fast. He could see their rope tangled in gear and pulleys and it would be impressive if not for the torture thing. If he shoved his knife in the gears then they would stop but neither girl would be cut loose and he wouldn’t have it to cut them loose. He needed to pull the rope out of the rig first with something. He looked around frantically but there was nothing, nothing close at least. He was almost out of time and in the moment it made sense.

“Oh my god,” they both shrieked. It was weird. Maybe it was adrenaline but he didn’t really feel it after the first second or two. Just the pull from the roped in his longest fingers as the blade sliced through it. Both of them pulled back and fell to the floor. They both shook off their now loose bindings and all of it happened in a moment and when that moment ended…

“Fuck!” It was so loud it hurt his vocal cords. Em was by his side first staring horrified at the slowly grinding gears, their speed having been cut down not from his fleshy hand but the fat metal blade that would break any moment and turn Mike’s surely broken hand into an unusable stump. Jess was up and with them. The two grabbed him under his arm as he braced his feet against the bottom of the machine. He could not release the handle of the knife yet. It was the only thing keeping his hand mostly intact.

He pushed with his feet as the girls pulled him back. The metal rubbed his hand and he knew it would happen before it did. The pain was sharp and fast but the three tumbled in a pile most of his hand free. Who needs their thumb that much anyway?

Jess and Em helped him wrap his baggy sleeve over his hand to manage the bleeding. They also helped him to his feet. He cradled his arm against his abdomen. He lay his other arm around Jess putting some of his weight on her. Em somehow looked both sad and happy at the same time when he looked over.

“Thank you, Michael.” was all she said. It was enough. Jess hugged him tightly before she peppered his face with little kisses. He smiled down at her. He had made the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey perverts, the scream Mike heard was Chris getting hit with the hot water.
> 
> This is (hopefully) wrapping up soon.


	9. Boss Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You should go in ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah soon. I have been super inspired for this recently. Also sorry. Please know I love Beth.

Matt could not for the life of him come up with a reason he lead them down the narrow hall only made worse but the bundles hanging off the walls. He tripped a lot as Hannah’s slippers did him no favors. He was too tall for this space. He bumped his head on the ceiling once. It more annoying than scary.

That was not to say there was no fear. It radiated off all their bodies. They were as packed together as tightly five people could get. Practically walking chest to back. Hannah snug between him and Sam, Ashley almost on Sam’s back, Chris’ chin basically resting on Ashley’s head. It was probably making their trek harder to be so close. He had a feeling none of them were very eager to get to the end of this hallway anyway.

Sam had passed her flashlight to him when he took the lead only because Hannah refuse to release Sam and the two were attached at the hip the first few feet. Chris and Ash similarly had been tightly holding hands since they started. No wonder they’d formed this weird walking cuddle pile eventually. It did feel oddly safe even if it made them all sweat from fear and heat. Chris sneezed at some point and they had all jumped and flung body parts around (this was when Matt had hit his head). From the moans after he was not the only victim of the metal walls.

Hannah had been clinging to him since he found her. At that moment her hands were digging into the fabric of his t-shit. She held it tightly and pulled back a few times, afraid. She was close enough that her breath made it through the fabric a few times. He swore she even bit his shirt to muffle whines and cries once or twice. He’d dreamed and envisioned Hannah’s nails and teeth digging into his skin quite a bit over the last year. The way the night was going this might be the best version of that Matt ever got. He wished he was in the frame of mind where he could enjoy the feeling of her long finger on his back and her little whimpers. He knew it was best not to even try it. He’d already ruined their first (or maybe their only) kiss. If they lived through this he was going to die of shame.

Matt felt himself pulled back with some force until he stopped moving. There was no push to continue after either. Someone had stopped the line. From the way it looked when he turned around it had been Ashley as she was looking at them and Hannah and Sam were both also looking back. Chris for his part was surveying the hall his chest firmly against Ashley’s back and his arms around her torso. There was so much more to be worried about in that moment, but fear did weird things to people. Matt felt a fierce protective fire light his chest. It made him want to kick Chris in a very specific place. When had he and Ashley become so cuddly?

“Why are we doing this?” Ashley finally asked. Chris looked down at her as if he had just noticed they had stopped. Her uncuffed hand gripped her opposite shoulder harder then needed.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked. She had tried to turn her body to look Ashley’s way but neither her nor Hannah and Matt were really capable of it in the space. They instead were forced to almost strain their neck to see her. His view of the other two girls was peripheral at best. Hannah was settled right in his blind spot.

“We should just leave,” Ashley said her voice conveying her fear clearly, “We shouldn’t go this way. We should try to find everyone else and leave.”

“This was the only way to go,” Hannah reminded her. She was right.

Chris and Ashley had hit a dead end at the elevators which Sam had come out of. This had been the only door he and Hannah found that didn’t lead into a crumbing room or hallway with man sized holes in the floor. I was the only option unless they turned back. They hadn’t seen anything that way though. They would’ve had to backtrack pretty far to find another path.

“But the psycho is probably at the end of this hall. We’re all thinking it,” she voiced what gone unsaid.

“Don’t worry, Ash,” Sam said after a deep swallow. Ashley was almost shivering and Chris pulled her tighter into his chest.

“Yeah,” Matt added, “There’s five of us and only one of him.”

No one dared question if maybe there were more than the one guy. This was pretty elaborate. It was not an impossible idea that their kidnapper had in fact been kidnappers. The thought settled heavily around them, covering them like morning dew. Hannah and Ashley whimpered almost in time with one another

“We don’t really have a choice,” Chris said sounding as happy about that as any of them felt. Their line reformed if possible even more tightly as Matt led them forward again. Still their steps were slow and they were deliberate. He could barely hear them hit the floor even though with ten feet someone should have been stepping too heavily.

The light seemed to come out of nowhere. Just one long streak on the floor. Matt followed it to the bottom of a door much closer than he was comfortable with. He felt all of them tense at once to steal their nerves. They barely breathed and their pace was so slow Matt was surprised that it didn’t take them the rest of the night to reach the hall’s end.

There was no handle. There was one lone tiny window too smudged to discern anything happening on the other side. He put his hand on the door experimentally and pushed only slightly. The door did not fight the movement. It floated out only an inch then back into his hand with a swing. It was unlocked.

‘Five of us,’ he reminded himself debating opening it slowly or shoving it open. He wondered which was more likely to give them away. The shove would be loud but it might catch him off guard enough they could all quickly get in. The slow push was safer but what if the door squeaked? And what if not everyone got in before it closed again? He decided on slow because in the end it seemed safer. It felt far too fast when he gently pressed it forward. Once open he saw into the room and everyone else did too soon after.

It was Hannah’s loud gasp that assured him what he saw inside was real.

\---

Mike offered to take the girls to the supply closet where he had found his jumpsuit as there had been a whole stash (and it was not too far away from them and this room was a dead end). Maybe in another circumstance seeing both girls in their undies would have been the new best moment of Mike’s life. Like this though they looked weak and anything but sexy. Their knees were scraped and they had rope burns on their wrists.

The wrap on his hand helped and he was not really bleeding so much.

He’d lost his thumb and half his pointer finger. The three of them had to lean on one another quite a bit to get their tired bodies to move down the hall at a decent pace. Their hard breathing was the only noise though Mike had been straining his ears so hard before that it might have been the only reason he could hear it. There was a light rasp to each breath taken. Shouting over that machine had been a strain.

The quiet was both comforting and uneasy. He and the girls were together and were okay. They could look out for each other. He could depend on them and they on him. Seeing the two people who were most important to him definitely lightened his heart. Feeling their weight, their skin and hearing them breath even shallowly was a relief that was almost euphoric.

But there was still the other seven.

No, the other six! He wanted to believe Hannah was not actively involved in what happened. To believe the torture door would have opened no matter what she picked. He tried to convince himself that maybe she didn’t hear his pleas. Maybe she wasn’t even on the other side of this. While not a pleasant thought he kind of hoped she was being held against her will, being forced as much as they were to play the twisted ‘game’ this maniac had created for her. It felt fucked up but he wanted so much to believe she didn’t hate him this much. Somehow though he knew it wasn’t true.

“There,” he was able to say when the closet came into view. The girls leaned him on the wall before they let him go and went into the small space. He tried to stay on his feet but slid to the floor anyway. He listened to them shuffle to find something as he thought more about Hannah. She thought that he deserved this. Maybe she was right.

But who was she to deal out judgment on him?

It sunk in then. She’d never forgive him. It would hang on his neck like a chain for the rest of his life. Nothing he did would ever absolve him of this. Nothing he did would ever be enough to make up for it. This one mistake was set in stone. It was a done deed. He could not, he could never, undo it. It would follow him as long as he let it.

So it was time for Mike not to let it anymore.

He didn’t need a pardon he would never receive. She was one person and he felt like shit because she had never done him any harm. Still she was just one person in a world of billions. She was no more powerful than he was. No more holy. She was no more fit to dole out punishment then he was. She was just a girl. One girl.

Mike wasn’t going to let her rule his actions anymore. From that moment on Hannah Washington would hold no power over him. He was master of his own destiny and he would release that right to no man or woman. Not ever again.

“Ready?” Mike had not realized he closed his eyes until he heard Jess ask that. She and Emily much like him were in the smallest jumpsuits they could find. She was looking down at him arm stretched to help him to his feet. He took it and together they pulled him to his feet. They once more tried to hold each other up but this time Emily did not join them. She traveled further into the space. Mike heard things being pushed around. After a very loud noise like something falling apart he and Jess wobbled their way over to the door.

Emily was fine. She was standing by a brand new hole in the wall. Light stream from it. As did noises that sounded like people. Someone was close by. Going through this newly cleared space would bring their group closer to the other. They shared a look between them all.

“It could be them,” Jess answered the question on all their minds. Mike thought of the others. Chris and his scream of pain. Matt’s name echoing somewhere. Ashley and Sam missing with no trace of them. At least that he could find. They could be close to them and he had vowed to help them before he took care of this crazy man. Hell, even if he was mad at Hannah it wasn’t as if Beth or Josh had done him any harm. They all needed him.

He nodded leading Jess through the small space towards Emily. She rejoined their literal support group. They made their way sideways through listening to the voices as the crept along the hall they had found through the wall. It was slow going but the voices were definitely getting louder. Their pace sped up as they pushed on. They were almost stumbling. Mike wasn’t sure he could pin the voices down to any of his friends.

They came to a chain-link wall and released each other to grip the fingers in the holes for support. Emily was in the lead somehow having more endurance then her companions. There were at least two voices talking. No, more like yelling. Emily must have heard it too because she sped up. He and Jess followed close behind. He wasn’t listening to the words being shouted. He doubted any of them were. They chased them as if in a desert with water on the horizon. Finally a gate was in view and they ran for it. They clattered into all at once.

As soon as the shock faded Mike’s blood boiled. He’d found his friends alright.

\---

“Josh!” It was a shout. The figure under the desk yanking at wires turned quickly and hit its head as it stumbled out onto its feet. It was him alright. Still in his jeans and t-shirt from earlier but with a black hoodie over it. He was sweaty as if he had been working on something for awhile. His eyes were wider than usual. Hannah saw his feet twitch a little. He was off after that towards a chain-link wall on the other side of the room. Matt was much faster and basically tackled him onto a nearby table. Matt held him down by his shoulders. The two breathed heavily.

Josh. Her big brother. Her superhero. Her Joshy.

Her chest actually physically hurt from her sharp, painful breaths. She looked around as if waiting for one of the others to contradict what she saw with her own eyes. Ashley’s eyes were dark and fixed onto Chris’ back. It was hard to tell if she was about to cry or scream or both or neither. Chris had a similar face on but he had pulled Ashley over to the desk where there were monitors set up. The same images she had been seeing all night flashed periodically across the screens. Hannah saw the footage disappear as Chris frantically checked the computers one by one clearly looking for something as if that was, in his mind, the most important thing in the room at the moment, even when his best friend had been revealed as his betrayer. Sam released Hannah suddenly to race after Matt. She was yanking on his shirt.

“What the hell is going on here?” he yelled shaking Josh.

“Matt, let him go,” Sam snapped yanking on him harder. Matt ignored her and slammed her brother harder against the surface. Before any of those three could say another word someone else shouted.

“You son of a bitch!” Chris was the only person who didn’t look toward the voice. Mike was frantically trying to open the gate from the other side. It seems either the nature of the conversation or the visual was enough for Mike to piece things together. He had somehow managed to loop his arm through the chain-link wall and was grabbing at the handle on the other side. Emily and Jess seemed more shocked then anything. Neither spoke though Emily looked ready to kill. Soon she was shaking the chain-link as if she could pull it open. Jess was the only one of the three even remotely calm. Hannah felt tears in her eyes that threatened to fall any second.

“Open this door! Let me in there!” Mike continued yelling.

“You should relax, Mike.” It was the first thing her brother said since he was found and he sounded oddly sincere. “You’ve been through quite the ringer tonight. You should have just stayed where you were stupid.”

“Matt, let him go! This isn’t the time for this!” She had never heard Sam so angry.

“Fuck you!” Mike was still slamming at the handle, “I lost my goddamn fingers you psychopath!”

“Sam, let me go! I don’t want to hurt you!” Matt’s intensity had gone from sexy to terrifying when directed at the most important people in Hannah’s life.

“Because you played the wrong game!” Josh yelled back at Mike, “You would have been fine if you stayed where you were.”

“You tried to rip off Jess and Emily’s arms.” That was Mike.

Hannah jumped when she heard a banging everyone seemed to have missed from behind. Looking for the source she saw Ashley being dragged around by Chris, who was shoving everything so fiercely around on the desk some fell to the floor. He had apparently finished checking the computer files and was now trying to figure out where the wires went. She had never seen him so careless or rough with anything electronic.

“No, I didn’t!” Josh continued to shout and Matt’s grip on him had loosen from Sam pulling him off.

“Bullshit!” Emily this time.

“It wouldn’t have hurt you!” Josh argued still calm despite people yelling at him or breaking things or nearly choking him. “It was just supposed to scare them! It would have stopped as soon as it ran out of rope to pull on.”

Hannah’s brief relief was cut short as Mike’s efforts to open the gate doubled. He seemed even more angry to learn the girls had not been in any real danger. Hannah would have thought that would have made him happy.

“The fuck is wrong with you, Josh?” Matt yelled as calmly as he could having shrugged Sam off of his shoulders enough to pin Josh down again. When he turned to face Matt, Josh’s face twisted into anger.

“Nothing’s wrong with me but something’s wrong with you. Trying to get my sister into bed with you after you humiliated her. You think as a good big brother I would allow something like that, prick!?”

Josh smiled a little, “I wouldn’t! Not without testing your loyalty first!” His voice was almost joyful, “Well, be happy you passed at least.”

“You mother-” Sam yanked Matt again and he was cut off.

“All of you need to calm down!”

“Josh when I get this gate open- ugh!” Mike had not relented at all.

Her head was spinning. It felt light and dizzy. Josh was trying to scare Jess and Emily, humiliate Mike, test Matt, punish Ashley. It was sick and gross but it made sense to her. It made too much sense to her. All the things she had wished to do. All things she thought they deserved. The things they had all done to her, they deserved. Josh had just been giving her what she wanted. It made her want to puke. She felt herself dry-heaving as if her body wanted to push out the emotions. The tears in her eyes were painful.

There was another sudden bang behind her before Chris' voice joined in, “Josh, tell me where it is or I will destroy all of this!"

“Relax bro, it’s not anywhere,” once more Josh sounded happy and not at all sorry as he spoke, “Though I would have saved it if I had known you’d want it so badly.”

Sam and Matt were yelling at each other cutting the other off as she tried to pry him off her brother. Mike was still on his pursuit to get the gate open. Ashley had started to cry. Genuine sad crying with hitches in her breath, her eyes turning red and her face scrunching up in an ugly way. Jess was the only one who said and did nothing staring at nothing. Emily’s focus seemed to have shifted to her as she tried to get her attention, worry on her face.

“What is wrong with you?” To Hannah’s surprise Chris didn’t sound mad and perhaps there was a bit of concern under his words. “Are you off your meds or something?”

“Of all people I’d think you would be the one thanking me, Chris. I mean you probably had more fun tonight than anyone else here. Oh, I suppose except for Ash.”

Before Chris could answer there was a slam as Mike got the gate open and literally charged at Josh like an enraged bull. Here is what Hannah didn’t expect, Chris to run right at him yanking Ashley along and literally crashing into Mike until they both hit the wall. Mike was stronger but Hannah assumed he had been through a lot. Chris was also larger by quite a bit. Ashley clung to Chris’ back presumably afraid how this might escalate.

“Get off me!”

“He’s sick!”

“He’s dead!”

Mike looked scarier than he ever had before. He had something bad planned for Josh and she knew he would follow through with it. Hannah also had the feeling the only reason Matt hadn’t beat her brother into a bloody mess himself was because Sam kept pulling on his arms. Jess was still basically a zombie and Emily had looked even more worried.

Hannah felt like she might collapse any second. She was so scared. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn't think straight. She was so alone in all of this. Hannah was never alone. Never until tonight. Even with all of them here between the shouting and shock and confusion she was still so very alone. She didn’t like to be alone and she had never had to be. She’d always had-

“Beth!”

It was like a gunshot went off in the room. She had screamed it. They were all looking at her. She had commanded their attention. With that single word she had stopped them. It was the most powerful thing she had ever done. Sam looked grateful and Hannah got the feeling it was what she had been trying to say this whole time.

“Has anyone seen her?” Hannah continued, “She isn’t here.”

All eyes turned to Josh as he stood now that Matt’s hold had weakened on him. He looked around the room as if counting them all. Terror settled into his eyes. He didn’t know. He didn’t know what had happened to Beth. Sam’s face went pale too. Hannah got the idea she had planned to question him but his face answered every inquiry she had.

“She’s not with you..?” It came out of Josh’s mouth slowly as he pointed to Sam, who shook her head.

“We fell,” Sam sounded scared, “I thought maybe she had made it back here somewhere like I did.”

“We have to find her!” Josh yelled.

Before Sam could say anything though Mike cut them off. “No!”

Chris had backed off enough for him to wiggle out. He looked furious but it was a calm fury. The fire in him was still burning but it was no longer a wild fire. He made his way towards Josh, looked him in the eyes and said as if it was not up for debate, “We’re going to look for her! You’re staying right here.”

“What?” Josh scoffed, “There is no way I am staying here when my sister is out there somewhere!”

“We not giving you the chance to pull something on us,” Emily snapped, “You’ve been pretty fucked up tonight and there is no way we are letting you walk around with us freely. You stay here.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Josh pushed, “I’m going to look for Beth.”

“No, Josh.” Hannah’s voice shocked even herself. The force and power behind her words were still something she had to get used to. “They’re right. We can’t trust you. Beth is in trouble and if we are worried about you then we might never find her.”

His eyes fell and she thinks, no she knows, he only sat in the nearby chair because she had been the one who said it. He was giving in. He looked ready to cry but his eyes were wild. No, he had to stay behind.

“We can’t leave him alone though,” Sam reasoned as she glanced at him, “For a lot of reasons.”

“Ashley and I will stay,” Chris decided. Ashley looked like she didn’t like that idea but she nodded.

Emily was helping Jess in a seat as well before she turned their way, “Jess should stay too. She’s not going to be able to handle this.”

Mike as if remembering Jess looked her way with a lot of affection and then he nodded, “I agree.”

Sam nodded too looking around at the five of them. Taking a deep breath she decided, “Okay we’ll all head this way out of the room,” she pointed to the opening at their side, “I fell into a tunnel that led me here so our best bet is she did too if we don’t find anything then we’ll head back here and try to get into the mines from above ground. Sound good?”

“Wait. I gotta do something then we’ll go,” Mike said with an authority that couldn’t be argued with. The foursome nodded as Mike grabbed the keys Josh had hanging on his belt. Josh made a move to take them back, but Hannah’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. He signed when he looked up at her. This was all for the best.

Mike had brought the keys over to Chris and the two talked quietly as they tried them each in the cuffs until they released Chris’ wrist. Sam looked anxious to go. She bounced on her feet. Once Ashley was also free Chris and Mike made their way over to her and Josh. Hannah got what they were doing only a moment before they did it.

“Don’t you dare, assholes.” Her brother made his first attempt to get away since sitting down. Matt was still close enough to cut him off though and Chris and Mike grabbed Josh by his shoulders to sit him back in the chair. The three guys managed to keep him there until his hands were bound behind the chair back. Josh fought and yelled and called them names the whole time. Sam reached out a hand to put on her shoulder in comfort. She held back her tears. She couldn’t look at at him. No matter what he had done, he was still her older brother Josh. Her superhero. Her Joshy.

The five of them headed out, her brothers angry shouts, cries and curses following her the entire way.

\---

Upon waking Beth’s first thought was where was she? It was dark, the surface under her was solid but that was all she could tell about it. She strained her mind to remember what happened. How she got down there, how she got like this. Her head hurt. Parts of her body tingled. Images of Sam and Hannah danced in her vision. It took her quite a while to understand they were only in her mind.

Hannah…?

Sam…?

Why Hannah and Sam…?

Slowly her mind pieced things together. Hannah was in trouble, she knew it, had felt it from over a mile away in the guest cabin. She and Sam had wandered back towards the lodge. There was a barrier on the mountain path and a mine shaft and a fall.

Where was Sam? Sam had been at her side the whole walk. She had not left her side from the moment she arrived at the lodge. Sam was always like that. A puppy dog in love wandering after her every step.

She was the only thing Beth loved as much as she did Josh and Hannah. That had been unfair. Why was her mind going there? Why was she thinking about Hannah and Sam and how unfair it all was?

Nothing made any sense. The dots bounded around her head. They never formed a picture or a thought. They bounced with no purpose flying passed each other but never colliding.

Hannah?

Sam?

Still dizzy, still out of it, everything still foggy she remembered her and Sam falling. She remembered the pain of their hands breaking apart. Hitting her head on a beam. The wall collapse. The rubble falling after her. Sam called to her before it all went black. It took all of her strength to knock the rocks and wood off her bruised chest which given the small amount should have been much easier for her to do. She tingled in that way your mouth does when the dentist gives you Novocaine. She felt a dampness and coldness on her back, but her legs were neither. She thought about kicking the debris off her legs. She thought about it and only thought about it.

They didn’t move and slowly it dawned her that they couldn’t move.

Beth does not frighten easily and maybe until that moment she had only ever felt fear for her siblings and for Sam (maybe Chris if she was stretching). But the chill that choked her heart and stopped her breath in her throat was painful. Intense fear like this was new to her. The coldness around her became warm as her adrenaline surged pushing her into flight or fight mode. It kept pumping hard through her limbs as neither option was available. Her body refused to obey the instincts it commanded of itself

She pushed herself up onto her elbows. The world around her spun and her wobbled back before she had a balance. The pain in her was so intense. The kind of intense that made you made want to scream but also kept you from moving. Her arms were the first part of her that started to shake. Her torso next followed by her head. She willed her legs to shake too. Everything above her hips shook. But the two long limbs underneath remained still.

She hiccuped before the tears started gathering under her eyes. Her breathing became rapid before the first one even fell. Her shaking intensified even as no sound came out of her mouth. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. More than anything though she wanted her legs to start listening to her mind.

The sobs broke out and with them the pain and the fear swallowed her all at once. She was screaming. She was screaming louder than she ever had in her life. Hearing it bounce off the cave walls she felt sure it was the loudest anyone had ever screamed in the history of the world. It strained her throat and slowed her breathing. Everything hurt. Everything. Everything. Everything. Everything.

No one thing didn’t. More accurately two things didn’t.

She screamed and cried and her body began to sweat. The tears streamed down the sides of her head. The intensity of the moment was the strongest she was sure she’d ever or would ever endure. This was the end. Her heart beat loud enough she heard in her ears, she was sure it would burst from her chest. Her throat hurt but she couldn’t stop the terrible echoing noise forcing itself out of her mouth.

Nothing she did calmed her. She willed so hard for them to move. She willed herself to wake up from what must have been a terrible nightmare. Her head was light enough, was fuzzy enough that this could be a waking dream. She would open her eyes, be next to Sam in the bed in the guest cabin, her lovely, perfect girlfriend. She would turn to see her watching her sleep, post-coital glow still radiating off her round face. She’d smile and kiss her nose. Sam would hold her, let her be little spoon which Hannah never did. She’d soothe Beth back to sleep. They’d bask in each other and their love.

Just like with her legs no matter how hard she willed it nothing happened. As intense as the pain was, her mind couldn’t recognize it, refused to accept it, argued against this horrible new reality she faced. Even Beth had her limits it seemed as slowly she began to give in. Slowly she began to believe it and maybe she ludicrously thought if she accepted it that would undo. It would make this not real. It would go away. She was being tested. Once she passed she would rise to her feet with ease. She could do it. She was strong enough. Her eyes closed tight and their voices, all the complicated words and feelings they had from the last year echoed in her clouded mind.

Jess.

Chris.

Sam.

Josh.

Hannah.

All goodbyes Beth would never get the chance to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do love her.


	10. Pause Screen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to stop and think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so people did not seem to get this in my story "Guilty as Charged" so please pay attention to this:
> 
> Just because JOSH says something does not make it TRUE. Josh is DELUSIONAL. His view of the world is NOT ACCURATE. So if Josh says something you think doesn't make sense or is laughably ridiculous, good because that's the POINT! He does not have a firm grasp on reality.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! 

They were all stupid! He… he was trying to help them… help her.

He loved her. He loved both of them the same. But Beth- Beth was strong. Beth could kick his ass and than some. Beth could hold control over anything she pleased. Beth could break them like they were twigs one right after the other physically and emotionally. Powerhouse wasn’t a strong enough word for describing Beth. She was the force that moved the tectonic plates in the ocean.

Hannah… 

He remembered. They insisted there was no way he could remember being a toddler. Being barely three when Hannah was settled into his arms against his mother and the hospital bed. She was the first one of the two he’d held. He’d stared at her. She was the grossest thing he’d ever seen, so completely red and squishy to the touch. She couldn’t smile. She couldn’t talk. She could barely move at all. She couldn’t do anything. She’d fall to the ground if he wasn’t holding her up. She was this tiny, meek, gentle thing.

And Josh loved her. More than he had anything before or would anything after. Except for Beth.

Beth.

“Stop fucking yelling!” Screw him! Who was Chris to tell him what he was and wasn’t allowed to do? Chris looked mad. He must still be yelling. Good! He wanted Beth. He wanted Hannah. How dare they keep him away from them?! They did this! They had put this in motion when they sent his baby sister running into the cold forest, half-naked and embarrassed. When they’d tried to make the pain go away with empty words. She deserved better. She deserved to judge their worth. Hannah was above them all.

They sent her away to look for the third piece of their hearts. Dragged her into danger. They wanted him to lose them both. They’d taken Beth and they were trying take Hannah too. Most especially that fucking rat, Matt! The balls on that one. Josh saw it. The look on his dopey face when they came in from outside and the matching smile on Hannah’s face. He didn’t like thinking about what might have happened between them to cause those looks and their sudden comfort with one another after a year of not speaking. Their glowing red faces better damn well have been from the cold too! His hand still hurt and he hadn’t gotten all the dried blood off his knuckles from every 10th or so mirror he had shattered with his bare fist while walking down the halls of Matt’s loyalty test. A test even more needed given he was trying to get into Hannah’s pants!

“Shut UP, Josh!” Chris could go to Hell!

Ashley wouldn’t look at him. She sat by Jess, both had been silent this whole time. Jess was looking around the room as if she couldn't remember anything. She looked so small. She looked dirty and tired and so very lost. Her bright eyes dulling as the seconds passed. He wasn’t sure she even knew anyone else was in the room with her. Maybe she thought she’d awaken in bed, her nightmare over. She might pass out from pain and stress. She had been the hardest one for him to punish. Josh loved Jess. Not like that nor in the way he loved Hannah and Beth. He loved Jess in a very special way. They existed on the same frequency. She never backed away from him in fear. She was never too afraid to touch him and never too afraid to care for him. She’d been willing to make herself totally vulnerable to him. He didn’t scare Jess like he did the others. She was an angel. Beautiful and brave.

Or she had been. She looked so broken. Had he done that to her? Needless question, of course he had. He wished that he hadn’t had to. He wished he could have been allowed spare her like he had done with Beth and Sam. If there was anyone worth sparing here it was Jess. He’d dare say he was more willing to spare her than he was Chris or Ashley. She only came second to Beth. It had hurt him so much to sap light away from the star that was Jessica Riley.

“There’s a sink in the next room.” Was that his voice? Did he say that? He must’ve because they were all looking his way, Ashley and Jess for the first time since they had gotten there. Jess still looked so very lost. Did she even see him? Thoughts were spinning in his head. He tried to process what it was that made him say that thing. That thing specifically.

“Jess looks dirty and bloody.” Oh that made sense. “If you take her to the next room she can clean up.”

Chris and Ashley looked at each other that way they did whenever Josh was ‘acting up,’ whenever they had to bring him back to reality. Fuck them. Just because his actual parents were MIA didn’t mean they could act as if he was the child in their little game of house.

“You can take her, Ashley,” Chris finally said. He thinks it was out of courtesy the ‘I know you don’t want to be around Josh’ was simply implied. The dazed Jess was easily led from the room by Ashley, who looked at the ground when she walked passed him.

He loved Ashley, in almost the same kinship way he loved Jess.

But she had deserved to feel the kind of coldness she’d shown to his sister just as Jess (and Emily) had deserved to feel the fear Hannah felt and to understand the pain of a friend’s betrayal. Like Mike had deserved the same humiliation. When Josh overheard Ash confess to Emily her icy, almost dismissive outlook on the whole thing, he had been absolutely infuriated. Ashley was his best fucking friend after Chris and honestly years of history was the only reason she held second place and not first. He had a lot more in common with Ashley than he did with basically anyone else, maybe it was the soul of an artist inside them or maybe it was the jaded outlook on life trauma gave someone. Either way he felt more like it was not Hannah she’d betrayed that night, but him! Her only saving grace being she did seem to feel genuinely very bad and very sorry about just how much it had affected Hannah. Still he’d expected better from her. She was supposed to understand Josh.

Chris kept his gaze on Ashley up until she was completely out of his sight, his eyes glazed and dark in the way they always were when he looked at or talked about Ashley. Even once she was gone he stared at the entrance to the room she had left through. He did not focus his eyes back on Josh for far too long considering he was meant to be his “watchdog.” Heh, how he wanted her. In the very worst of ways. When he was drunk or stoned he would confess it to Josh. He’d talk about her mouth and her curves and her legs and her ass. Everything he wanted to do to her and everything he wanted her to do him. Josh had heard him say things about Ashley that the others would never believe Chris could say about any woman. He was “one of the good ones” according every female friend they had. Except he wasn’t. Chris was a hot-blooded animal with dark urges just like all young men are. There are no “good ones.”

Josh planned to simply trap Chris in his or Beth’s bedroom closet probably gagged and handcuffed to the bar to keep him quiet and out of the way. Then like a small electric shock he should have expected it dawned on him. He could lock him up by himself. Or he could trap Chris with Ashley! Cold meant the need for warmth, like perhaps body heat were it available. Josh had the power to make it available to Ashley in the form of their good friend Christopher. He wouldn’t be able to stand it once his body was snug against hers, touching in a dozen different hot places. He’d give in.

If the look of relief Chris was sporting was any indication he had not resumed his screaming once they were alone. His captor had leaned on the table with his monitors. They were black as Chris hadn’t even bothered to gently remove the wires. He’d yanked them out a bit hard for a guy who loved technology. He moved from relief to anger in maybe 20 seconds. No, not angry, seething, staring at the wall behind Josh’s head. Though he did have an idea why.

“I shut it off.”

“What?” Chris bit back.

His mouth was on auto-pilot and he couldn't tame what came out of it, “I said I turned if off.”

“What are you even talking about?” How was he mad?! He’d gotten more than Josh had intended.

“Your camera, you stupid dipshit.” He could hear in his voice Chris being mad had made him mad too. “Though I gotta say I’m kinda impressed, Chris.”

“Stop it.”

“No, really. Didn’t know you were man enough to get yourself into Ash’s wet, little panties so quickly. You’re quite the beast underneath that gentleman bullshit, huh?”

“Stop!”

“Tell me, was feeling her from inside just like you always fantasied it would be? So hot and so tight?”

“Goddamit,” Chris said grabbing the closest hard object (Josh’s recorder, which he had been using to practice his voice before he gave in and bought a voice modifier instead). He held it up as if waiting for a queue to throw it at Josh’s head. Tonight showed him Chris had bigger balls than would be expected so he might. But most likely not. 

“Don’t even try this,” Josh laughed loudly Chris, no matter how hard he tried not to, always, always forgave Josh. Probably out of pity but he did, “You’re not gonna hurt me. You couldn’t. You would feel so bad if you did because life is just oh so very hward for poor wittle Joshy. Shit parents, shit brain and enough alcohol and drugs in his veins that there’s probably no blood left. You’re a big, fat sucker for that garbage. Bet it makes you feel like you’re such a good person. Being so nice to a fuck up like me.”

“Why the hell are you acting like this?” To Josh’s surprise Chris sounded sad. “You’re scaring me.”

“I was helping you!”

Then Chris slammed the recorder onto the concrete floor. Parts broke off but it remained mostly intact. He paced taking deep breaths before he sat back down on the table, took off his dusty glasses and then ran his fingers through his hair. He thought he might pull it all out. With his face so lost and broken he made Josh think of Hannah. They were almost the same, Chris and Hannah. They were quite a bit like him and Jess, cut from the same cloth. That’s why they’d needed his help. It was why she had needed his help. It was his job to help Hannah, to care for Hannah, to protect Hannah. He was doing his job.

“I want to understand, Josh.” Chris’ voice was quiet. “You wanna help me then help me understand.”

“Like I haven’t helped you enough already,” Josh moaned, “You earned it but still.”

“Earned what? Being tortured?” Josh felt his face scrunching in confusion. 

“No, Ashley. I mean honestly you are a good guy, you never did anything to Hannah. Not directly.”

Chris stood again looking disgusted as he seemed to be processing what Josh said to him, “I’m sorry, are you actually saying that you were rewarding me? For not hurting Hannah last year? With Ashley?”

“Eh, reward isn’t really the right word for it.”

Chris looked like he was trying to contain himself with another deep breath but it seemed he couldn’t, “That’s the single most monstrous thing I’ve ever heard. You can’t gift someone another human being!”

“I didn’t plan on you screwing her! Sure, making out and maybe a little heavy petting but not doing the deed outright.” Then he laughed though was unsure at what. “But damn bro, when you go for it you go in hard. Pun totally intended.”

His laughter subsided a little, “I just wanted you to understand Ashley wants you the way you want her. She gave you so many hints, all the time. But I get it, my man, you needed to be totally sure before you could make a move on her so I gave you some reassurance.”

Maybe it was because they were, they would always be, best friends, but Chris’ face softened, “That- that wasn’t it, Josh. That’s not why I never- I just wanted it to be, maybe perfect is kinda stupid to say. But I wanted it to happen a certain way. Kissing her for the first time, knowing for a fact, an actual fact, that she really likes me, I mean the way I like her, holding her tightly against my chest with her smiling up at me staring at each other eye to eye and most especially us finally- I know exactly what I wanted and it wasn’t that.”

Josh had never felt the mix of wanting to puke from the Disney level sweetness of it and the warmth in his chest at how happy Chris sounded thinking about how he’d pictured everything for him and Ashley. Once more Josh had to laugh, “Fucking hell, you’re talking like you’re in love with her or some shit.”

He expected Chris to scoff at that and deny such a crazy idea but his only response was to look away, burning from collarbone to hairline. 

Oh.

“I thought you just wanted- I never thought that you might-” What could Josh really say to him except, “I didn’t know, Chris.”

“Yeah well, best friend or not, you aren’t really the kind of person I would tell something like that.”

Ouch.

Josh had thought, genuinely thought, he was doing Chris a favor. He wanted good things to come out of all of this. Beth and Sam alone together away from his prying parents who would never approve if they found out about them. Chris and Ashley’s feelings out in the open so they would finally do something about them. Him knowing Matt would take care of Hannah, that he would be good to her and he would treat her like the princess she was. They’d have his blessing if he knew with certainty that was the case. Most of all he wanted them all to move on. To even the playing field again. Then things would go back to the way they were but even better. They could be happy again.

But Jess wasn’t happy. Ashley wasn’t happy. Chris was especially not happy. It didn’t even seem like Hannah was happy. And Beth was lost, alone and in danger. 

His Beth. The innocent in all this. The only true innocent. Even Sam and Chris were not free of blame. Sam could have stopped it, but she was not strong enough, not like Beth to stop the others. Josh had a serious problem with drinking, one a good best friend would try to break him out off not encourage. But Chris might be as much of an alcoholic as Josh was so maybe that was an unfair expectation to put on him. He and Hannah had made peace with their treason though. Beth was the only one who was completely free of blame and guilt. Even Josh’s unconsciousness and Hannah’s naivete had played a part in what happened, had been pieces of the puzzle. 

Not Beth. Beth was the best of them all. 

She deserved to have much better people in her life. A sister and brother she didn’t have to take care of all the time. A best friend that hadn’t ditched her for a newer model only to break that friendship up over a guy. Another friend who used her for her brain. Shitty people who only encouraged her brother’s bad habits which he knew hurt her. Parents who ignored her in favor of her twin sister. A girlfriend who would also always put Hannah first, no matter how much Beth needed her.

Beth had gotten a shit deal. She deserved a refund. 

He believed he could send her away from this. That he could trust Sam to keep her safe. She would have a nice night she deserved after all the lying to their parents about her relationship with Sam and having to bare comments on how if she did x, y or z she could get the boys falling over themselves to be with her. Unable to say, ‘I have found somebody who loves me for me.’ for fear of her rejection from their parents intensifying. She deserved a night of fun with no stress so she could enjoy that love. Beth and Hannah. Their happiness meant so much to him. He wanted to make them happy. 

He’d just wanted to take their pain away. Even if only for tonight.

She could be hurt. She could dead. He isn’t sure which he was hoping for. Of course he wanted Beth to be alive and okay and not gone. But also selfishly he would like it if Beth died thinking the best of him. With her still loving him. Her alive to see what a disgusting creature he truly was at his core… it would break him. It was bad enough Hannah had seen it. He couldn’t lose them both. If he did he would die.

Soon Josh was screaming again.

\---

“Great… Now, what do we do Micheal?”

Hannah looked up at Emily when she asked that. She had been holding the back of Sam’s shirt unable to urge herself forward. She couldn’t move by herself. Torn between running back to Josh and going to help find Beth. It was hard to process who needed her more. If she could even do anything for either of her siblings. It had always been them taking care of her. Most especially Beth. She never returned the favor. Hannah owed Beth the world, her life, anything that could be given. It was the only thing keeping her away from Josh and pushing her toward Beth. The pull was barely able to make her more than wander though hence her reliance on Sam.

“Well, I don’t know,” Mike replied annoyed. The two seemed to have come to some kind of peace with one another but they were still Mike and Emily. The two of them had fought when they were together. Their relationship was pretty on and off before one of them finally pulled the plug on it. 

Hannah released Sam only to move over to hold onto Matt instead which gave her a better view of just what everyone was looking at. His arm was a little cold. He was so sweet giving his jacket to Ashley. She wrapped her cold hands around his (rather large) bicep. He looked at her and smiled when she did. He had a nice smile. There was probably some truth to what her brother had been screaming at him, which she should’ve guessed based on their kiss. Too bad she wasn’t sure if she liked Matt or the white knight role he had played during her terror of a night. He had looked quite scary when holding down a struggling Josh.

“We’re not gonna find her standing around. We have to do something.” That was poor anxious Sam.

Josh. Hannah was sure she could still hear his screaming even then. Curses flying from his month as she left him behind. Calling all of their friends all kinds of names before they were out of his sight and he switched to directing them at Chris alone. Who was not calm enough to not yell back. She’d never heard her brother speak that way to Chris or vice versa. Who was this guy? This stranger she had spent her whole life with? It wasn’t Josh. It couldn't be. She refused to believe it. She refused to trust her eyes.

“Sam is right. So come on fearless leader, lead us.” Emily had spoken up again.

Matt was next. “Maybe we should just head back and call the police. This place is huge.”

Hannah looked to see what they were talking about. They had come to a large opening in the mines, probably an actual dig site. More choices. Hannah had come to hate fucking choices. This was the second time tonight there was more than one way to go and the second time of debating what it was they should do here. Hannah’s sister was lost and alone and maybe hurt and maybe dead and this was Hannah’s life and no one was going to be controlling it anymore. She let go of Matt and pushed herself in front of of them. No one stopped her. She must still be emitting that power of authority from earlier. Though it didn’t matter because she would have made them listen anyway.

She quickly looked at each way there was to go. There were three of them. The tracks of an old carting system that slopped down a hill to a more open part of the mines, a series of ladders leading up toward the surface and a tunnel much like the one they had just been in going forward as they had been doing.

“We’re splitting up.” It was not an opinion. It was not a request. It was what they were doing. Period. Hannah had thought Chris was right before and knew she was right this time. She was taking a page of his (though technically also Ashley’s) book because Sam and Chris were the only people in this world she still trusted 100%. It worked out earlier and it would work out this time too. Even if it didn’t it was what they were doing. Her sister's life was on the line!

“We’ll take different ways and search for about an hour. Then we’ll meet up back here and if someone isn’t back after another hour we’ll go back to the lodge and call the police.”

“Han-”

“Shut up, Mike. My sister is out there and we are not wasting another second and it will take the police hours to get here. We are not going back. Not yet.”

After she’d shut up Mike, no one dared to question her. Hannah was still getting her way, but this time it was because she made it so. She was commanding it and it was not being freely given. That was the difference between submission and dominance. She had not been sure they were going listen to her. Her power had slowly been fading. But it was new and no one knew how to deal with it yet. Until they figured that out she would keep control. With her sister missing, she was not going to let this go easily. She was going to use it while she had it.

Sam stepped up to stand next to her surveying the different paths. Hannah kept her eyes on the others daring any of them to contradict her. Mike looked angry, Emily looked impressed and Matt was smiling at her with those affectionate eyes. They all stayed quiet though. It did not in any way outweigh the fear she had for her sister but Hannah felt a little smug. She could get used to this.

“Okay,” Sam said, “It’s best if Hannah and I take the ladders. We’re the most experienced climbers out of everyone here and we won’t slow each other down. As for the rest of you. I think two of you should follow the tracks down the hill and the other should continue through the tunnel. We can guess what’s ahead isn’t too different than what we have been through already so it’s the safest way for one person to go.”

“I’ll take the tunnel,” Mike decided and he started that way. He didn’t wait for the rest of them to agree or disagree. Emily despite having been yelling at him, gave him a look that said, ‘Be safe.’ He simply gave them all a look that Hannah felt was meant to assure them and wish them luck. He swallowed a hard, loud swallow.

“See you guys soon.” He looked at them in turn… even Hannah. Then he was gone.

Matt put a hand on Emily’s back to steer her their way. Hannah felt a little immature because her mind automatically shouted, ‘Get your hand off of her!’ This was not the time for romantic entanglements. Still she didn’t like Matt playing big, strong hero for anyone but her. She and Sam walked with purpose toward the ladders. They had just reached the bottom of the first one when Hannah heard his voice echoing through the cavern.

“Hannah, we’ll find her.” She turned his way. He and Emily were barely a few feet down the slope. “But please don’t get hurt. I don’t know what I’d do if- Just please.”

Hannah nodded though he probably couldn’t see it. Then he continued pushing Emily down their path. She turned back and Sam had her foot on the first rung ready to climb. She had paused when Matt called as well. Even though the circumstances were absolutely awful and it was the furthest thing from the right time for something like this, Sam gave her risqué look. One that said, ‘Well, well and what has my little Hannah been up to?’ Hannah blushed and she knew Sam could read the, ‘Oh trust me, we’re gonna gush about it later’ answer on her face. But then both their faces settled back into serious mode. They had Beth to think about.

Sam wanted to find Beth as badly as Hannah did. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that her best friend loved her sister. Because she did. She loved Beth. Hannah should’ve been happy someone loved Beth. Beth deserved to be loved and she knew from experience if anyone was good at loving people then it was Sam. Hannah regretted every cold shoulder and snide comment at them over the last year. If they made it out of this, if they all got out okay, Hannah was going to be happy for Sam and Beth. Even if she had to force it.

Because having to share with Beth was worlds better than not having Beth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes there is two more chapter not one. Josh would not shut up. Oh and I don't want to hear shit about Chris not really taking about girls that way. He can agree with Josh's snow angels comment in-game.


	11. Hidden Level

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when you thought you were done

This was probably the first time Hannah had been in Sam’s company without either of them talking. She didn’t know what to say and assumed the same was true for her best friend. Her best friend. That was right. Sam was meant to be Hannah’s best friend. Josh found a best friend when they were little. Beth had gotten one at age ten. Hannah hadn’t had a best friend until she was almost in high school. That was only three years ago. Last year her best friend started dating her sister. Where did that leave her? Where did that leave them? Beth became a variable in their friendship and that didn’t feel fair. Something happening with Beth would affect Hannah and Sam’s best friendship and Beth didn’t have a right to do that to her. What would it mean for them two if Beth was-

No! There was no need to answer that question because she wasn’t! Her sister was down there. Alive! Beth was alive. She would know right? If Beth had died. Twins had that connection. Twins felt each other over miles, over oceans, over time zones. She would know! Hannah couldn’t not know. She felt Beth lost and scared and alone and alive. Though maybe that was just distant hope and nothing more.

It happened so fast she felt it before it registered. She was standing and then she wasn’t. She was on the floor of the cave. She didn’t feel the pain until she looked at her bleeding hands. She saw her hands shake and her breathing quicking. She was weak again. Weak and sad. She rolled over and leaned against the cave wall. She only had so much inside of her. She could only give of herself to a certain point. Beth had to be okay! She’d find her. This was on her. This was up to her. She had to.

“Hannah!” She heard Sam at the same time as the tears gathered in her eyes. She owed Beth. She owed everything. She owed her Sam. She owed her anything she could give. She had to keep going. Stopping wasn’t an option. She had to go. Beth needed her and she had to be there for Beth like Beth was always there for her.

Yet the adrenaline had finally seeped from her body. That power she’d wielded was gone. She couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t talk and she couldn’t move. She was going to die. Beth had died here and Hannah was dying with her. Birth to Earth. If Beth died she died. It was a universal truth. What was the point of a life without Beth? What mattered without Beth? It didn’t matter Ashley saw her as spoiled and pampered and deserving of punishment. It didn’t matter that Chris who was meant to be family had picked Ashley over her. It didn’t matter that Jess and Emily’s friendship ended as a result of her anger and her depression. It didn’t matter that Mike wouldn’t ever feel about her the way she felt about him. It didn’t matter that her fears broke Josh’s mind. It didn’t matter whether Sam loved her or Beth more. It didn’t matter how Matt felt about her.

Strangely thinking of Matt, not Beth woke up her to her surroundings. She wasn’t on the ground. Rather she was moving. She was moving through the cave and it took her some time to realize she was being carried on Sam’s back. They were not going forward but back the way they had come instead. They were quite a distance away from where she had fallen and she wondered how long she had cried and been lost to reality. Sam held her with more ease than Hannah could believe was possible for their immense size difference.

“Sam.” Hannah made a move to climb off her friend’s back but as soon as her foot hit the stone a sharp pain shot through her ankle. Really sharp. Sam quickly pulled her onto her back again. Hannah twisted her ankle. That was why she’d fallen. As Sam continued forward Hannah quickly found that many parts of her body hurt. Her ankle was not the only thing she’d damaged. Her shoulder throbbed and both of her wrists burned. The toes on her other foot could only slightly move. This long nightmare finally caught up to her and hours of physical and emotional pain hit her all at once. Her head spun and she thought maybe she might pass out.

“Hannah!” She heard Sam call to her as she shook her a little, “Hannah you gotta stay with me. You can’t go to sleep! You hit your head.”

Sam must have been afraid she might have a concussion. Hannah shook her head, ow maybe Sam was right. But they were going the wrong way. She called gently to Sam, “Beth...”

Sam ignored her and kept walking.

“Beth!” she called louder, “Sam, Beth! We’re going the wrong way.”

“No we aren’t.”

“But-”

“Hannah, I can’t carry you deeper into the mines! I don’t know the path,” Sam explained but didn’t sound happy about that in the least, “And I can’t leave you behind. I left you behind earlier and it was wrong of me. I left Beth behind and I lost her somewhere in this hell. I won’t lose you too.”

She shook her head again even though Sam couldn't see it. Holy shit, she had to stop doing that, it just made her dizzy. She tried to pull on Sam as if she was one of her horses that she could steer the way she wanted to go. She was so tired she soon stopped trying. She slumped forward, her eyes drifting shut. Sam shook her again.

“You can’t pass out on me.”

Hannah regained some semblance of awareness once she wasn’t on the verge of knocking out anymore. “Sam, Beth-”

“Has three other people looking for her,” Sam insisted as if neither of them had a choice, “You only have me.”

There was more truth to that than she would like to admit. If it came down to it. Really Sam was who she had. Beth and Josh, they loved her like she was the single most precious thing in the world. But on some level (even if none of the three of them acknowledged it) they had to love each other as much as they did. Mom and dad certainly didn’t love them enough. She knew. Everyone thought she didn’t but she did. She had a lot less memories of her parents being there than she did of them not being there. Less memories of them caring for her as she did memories of Beth and Josh caring for her. All of her best memories, all of the ones that mattered to her, were of Josh and Beth. Josh putting her and Beth on the bus their first day of kindergarten. Beth putting band-aids and kisses on her knees if she fell and Hannah always fell. Josh making up stories to tell her before bed. Beth making her soup as best she could for Hannah’s fever. She and Josh knowing the lines to every movie they loved with Beth pretending to be annoyed when they talked over the actual actors. Beth and her cornering Josh, their pillows in hand, ready to strike him down. Thunderstorms scaring them enough to huddle together in Josh’s bed. The Washington siblings had to love each other. If they didn’t, nobody would.

Except Sam. Sam loved her. If her siblings didn’t love her, Sam would. Without need. She just would.

“Hannah,” Sam called again, “Stay awake, honey. Talk to me.”

Sam thought she had passed out. She was quiet too long, lost in her thoughts. Thoughts she didn’t feel she could quite control. Like brother like sister.

“I don’t like sharing you.”

“What?” Sam sounded shocked and she was at least a little out of breath. 

“I don’t want to share you.”

“Hannah,” Sam half-sighed.

“It doesn’t feel fair,” Hannah felt tears in her eyes. From pain and from sadness, “I don’t want her to be a part of this.”

“Hannah,” Sam sighed again then a moment later said, “She isn’t.”

“Yes she is!” she thought of them breaking up, of them going to different colleges, of them fighting and becoming enemies. She thought of Beth dy-, “If she’s gone… you’ll leave.”

“No,” Sam sounded like she didn’t want to have this conversation either because she was so tired or was too afraid, “It doesn’t matter what happens between me and her. You were here before Beth and you'll be here after Beth. No part of me doubts that. Not even a little bit. We’re sisters, Han. For life. For always. And For forever."

“Sisters?”

“In every way but blood,” Sam said stopping for a moment to catch her breath, “Because I know you’ll be here for me and I know I’ll be here for you. And even if I ever left, I’d always come back for you.”

“Always?”

“Well,” Sam almost laughed, “I came back tonight, didn’t I?”

“Because we’re sisters.” Hannah hugged Sam just a little tighter.

“Because we’re sisters,” Sam agreed, then she laughed again “And you know, if things go well with me and Beth, if we end up making this permanent, that’s just one more way we'll be sisters.”

Hannah laughed with Sam. It wasn’t totally happy though. There was a darkness to it. It also made Hannah feel dizzy and there was a ringing in her ears. They hid all of their fears underneath their laughter. They needed the denial. The belief that Beth was okay, was going to be okay, that maybe someday she and Sam would get married. Hannah could learn to enjoy the idea of Sam legally being her sister. They had to leave Beth behind. They had to turn their backs on her. They had to put all their trust in the other three. That wasn’t so bad. Hannah knew at least she could trust Matt. Matt would be her knight. Matt would bring Beth home.

Just like Sam was bringing her home.

\---

Beth wondered if complete apathy after the terror was normal. She’d screamed until her throat was sore. She’d cried until she couldn’t anymore. She’d flailed as best she could. She’d wished and hoped and fought to make herself move. She didn’t even care anymore. Maybe it was her accepting her death but she just didn’t care. She had lost the energy and will to care.

She had lamented over her friends, over Hannah and Josh, over Sam. She was done. She’d mourned losing them by virtue of them losing her. She’d contemplated the afterlife. She'd contemplated closing her eyes and nothing happening after. Just death then nothing. She had never been religious. Still it seemed the appropriate time to pick a belief system. Would it be ludicrous to say she was kinda just… bored at this point.

She felt worse for Hannah and Josh than she did herself. They were going to be crushed. Everything would be over for her but for them it was just the beginning. Chris and Jess they loved her but they wouldn’t get it. Sam would miss her and grieve and remember her but she would ultimately find love again (or at least Beth hoped she would, she deserved it). Nothing could replace her for her two siblings stumbling their way through life. Who would catch them? Who would guide them? And who would protect them? Maybe she could entrust that to Sam and Chris and if they fucked up she’d haunt their asses. Would be worth to be near Sam again. Though Chris’ puns might drive her batty.

The worst part of all this for her was actually that she was fucking freezing. She was so cold. Her coat was damp as she lay in tiny forming puddles. Water slipped down her jeans and into her butt crack which unfortunately unlike the rest of her lower body still had feeling. She’d lost her hat which sucked because she liked that hat. Would be nice to have something over her ears which felt like they might fall off soon too.

She lay there with her arms crossed over her chest. If Josh could see her he’d ask if she’d prefer a coffin or a sarcophagus but if she chose the latter he’d have to wrap her in paper towels. Though she was so pale she probably looked more like a vampire than a mummy. She assumed anyway as her hands were almost white.

She sighed and closed her eyes. Maybe she would just go to sleep. She might never wake up but truthfully that seemed preferable then endless thinkg as she waited for the grim reaper. Josh was going to be so jealous Beth got to meet him. Ghostly gloating over him was something to add to her “things to do once I’m a vengeful spirit” list. Would she be a vengeful spirit. Sam would say she was more than grumpy enough to be.

Why did freezing to death have to be so slow and uninteresting? As if she hadn’t suffered enough in life.

“God fucking shit apples!” Beth sprung up. Oh god! A person! She changed her mind. She wasn’t ready to die. She wanted to live. She very much wanted to live.

“Hello?! Hello?! Can you hear me? You have to help me! I can’t move!”

“Beth?! Oh my god, Beth!” There were wet slaps as somebody clumsily raced through the tunnels towards her. She saw the light first and the voice continued to call her name as she shouted ‘yes, yes, it’s me’ back to him. Everything was getting louder and it felt like her internal organs were trying to crawl their way out of her body. She was back up on her elbows. Someone was coming for her! Someone was very close to saving her! She was going to live!

“Jesus fuck!”

Jesus Fuck indeed as Beth Washington had never been this thrilled in her life to see Michael Munroe!

“Mike!” Beth felt new tears stream down from her sore eyes, “Oh my god, Mike!”

“Holy shit,” he said kneeling by her side then he looked up and whistled, “You fell far, huh?”

“No shit.” She couldn’t even manage to sound that annoyed because her savior was there and who gave two fucks if he was basically Beth’s least favorite person in their group of ten. He brought his eyes back down to look at her. He smiled a little, genuinely happy she was okay. He moved his gaze over to the rubble on her legs as he reached out to knock it off. He grimaced as soon as it was out of the way. She quickly looked herself and saw what he was looking at. She may have been lucky to not be able to feel her legs, they were clearly very broken. They must have taken the brunt of her fall. Her left foot twisted in a way feet shouldn’t ever be able to. Her knee looked way too squishy for the bone there to still be intact. Looking further down she saw her bone and decided to focus on the fact she hadn’t bled to death despite it no longer being in her body especially in combination with the thin metal rod in her thigh.

Mike looked like he might puke at the site. She couldn't blame him. She was having a hard time believing these were her legs. He forced himself to look her in the face. He touched her shoulder and swallowed hard. “How bad does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t,” she told him and even in the awful circumstances she kind of enjoyed the amazed and confused face he made before she clarified, “I can’t feel anything below my hips.”

“Fuck!” Mike said standing up and looking around with his lantern. He must have found it down there, “That means we can’t more you. We might make it worse.”

He looked back the way he came and that earlier fear surged through her again. He wasn’t going to leave her right? He wouldn’t. Mike would not let her rot here. He was just trying to figure something out was all. He was not thinking of abandoning her. He couldn't. She didn’t have her earlier denial to fall back on. She couldn’t hold back her terror if she got this close to life only to be sentenced back to death again.

Luckily he only went a foot or so in before he came back out by her and she relaxed. He looked above her head for a few moments then came back over to her. He wasn’t going to leave her but she could not be moved. They were essentially stuck here together. Her and the boy who started all of this, if he had not- No there was no point in wasting the energy. He was what she had and she had to deal with it. She sighed leaning back. She tilted her head far enough that for the first time she saw a bit of light streaming down into the cave. That light must have traveled right to her brain as it gave her an idea.

“Mike, I need you to look around for my flashlight,” she instructed. He was her only hope. Oh god she was going to be in debt to him. To Mike. Oh well it was better than dying. Barely. “It can’t be too far.”

Mike nodded and set back to looking around the cave this time at the floor. He found her stuff about six feet behind her, way out of her line of sight. He leaned back down next to her. She nodded, “Okay now take everything out of it.”

He looked skeptical but he opened her bag and rummaged through it. She felt a little violated as he searched her bag but she did not exactly have the high ground here as she had asked him to. He pulled out item after item until he found her bag of batteries and a set of reflective tape. She always took extra batteries on night hikes and only someone with a death wish would not bring reflective tape. Once he had both and her flashlight. He set his lantern by her head. “Now what?”

“Go check that wall over there where the light is coming from?” Amazingly Mike did not fight her on any of this. He probably didn’t have the energy either. He looked like shit. His night must have been pretty bad as well. Beth would argue hers was worse, but it looked like his had still been pretty damn bad.

“Can you climb it?” she called once he was there.

“Probably.”

“Okay,” Beth swallowed. She did not want to be alone again but she couldn’t think of anything else. “Take my stuff up there and see if you can set up a light that people can see from the trail. Then if anyone passes by they might see it. But you’re gonna have to stay up there in case the batteries die.”

Mike nodded, “Okay.”

Then to her complete surprise he put everything down and went back over to her. “Are you cold?”

“No, I just think blue looks good on me.”

Mike half-smiled. Then he picked up some of her clothes and placed them behind her head so she could lay back. She did so happy to have something cushioning her head and neck. Once she settled, he took her extra coat and her emergency blanket out to cover her with. She tried to maneuver a bit under her back to protect her from the water. It wasn’t much but she felt a lot better. He nodded at her again and then packed what he needed into her now empty bag. He left his lantern for her so she was no longer in the dark. She heard him making his way up the wall and had no choice but to believe in him, to believe he would help her. She was surprised to find it wasn’t that hard. He wasn’t so bad after all. 

For the first time Beth understood what it was her sister had seen in him.

\---

Chris didn’t expect anyone to be coming into the room. He quickly looked over at the chain-link fence and out the side of his eyes saw Josh do the same thing as figures burst in. His continued sobbing had cloaked the noise as they approached. However both of the guys went silent when they showed up. Jess and Ashley were still in the backroom, but he and Josh were no longer alone. In retrospect it made perfect sense. It was actually the most logical course of action and Chris should have been more surprised none of them had done it already. 

Chris’ first thought was, ‘Fuck! THIS looks bad.’

“Oka-” He was interrupted immediately.

“Sir, I’m going to need to put your hands on your head.”

“Listen-”

“Hands on your head!”

Chris decided to obey rather than attempt to argue with the two guns currently aimed his way. So he stood up straight and lay his shaking hands against the back of his head. That’s what they meant right? Like in the movies? No one yelled at him so he guessed he had done what they wanted. 

Three more of the what he could only assume was a police force made there way into the back room. The men left surveyed the scene rather quickly. With one man holding his aim on Chris another came over to him cautiously to remove Josh’s keys from his belt and he assumed make sure he had no weapon of his own. It took all that Chris had to not jump back. The only thing keeping him still was his greater fear of getting shot.

“No, don’t- don’t shoot him,” Josh cried out desperately, “It was all just a joke! Nobody is supposed to die!”

“Sir,” the officer attending to his restraints told him, “Sir. We’re going to have to ask you to stay seated and calm.”

“Don’t shoot Chris!”

“No one is getting shot so long as you all comply.” Josh settled slightly. He sounded scared. More so than Chris was. The man relaxed a little but he did not put his hands down. This was not the time for taking risks. He knew they brought Jess and Ash back into the room. Not because he saw them but because as soon as she saw him she cried out:

“Chris!” His best friends must have wanted him to be killed! He wanted to look at her and make sure she was okay. He felt his blood boil at the thought one of these assholes could have a gun on her just like they did him and Josh. What the hell was this? None of them save Josh had done anything wrong and even Josh didn’t deserve to be held at gun point. Josh was not in the kind of state for this and it was only a matter of time before he snapped again. Slowly as they all realized none of them were a danger the people around them, the police, relaxed slightly. 

“Alright, I’m going to need you step over to the desk.” the man who must have been in charge said to them all as he indicated towards Josh. Daring to lower his hands Chris walked over towards the rest of the group as Ashley and Jess had already made it there. He sat on the desk next to Josh who remained in his chair but was shaking as if he might dart from the room at any moment. Chris found himself reaching out to comfort him but shockingly Jess beat him to it. She settled down onto her knees placing her head in Josh’s lap as she did. His hands seemed to unconsciously stroke her hair and lightly scratch her scalp. It was as if she couldn’t remember he had done this to them or maybe she simply didn’t care. Whatever it was it seemed to soothe both of them. As for Ashley, she climbed up to sit on his other side (probably wanting to be as far away from Josh as possible). Chris out of instinct pulled her so close it must’ve looked like they were trying to merge their bodies together.

Whoever these people were (though once again they were most likely law enforcement) they’d moved on to searching the room. Guess it was a crime scene to them. Two of them stood nearby as in their eyes they were all suspects and potential criminals. Except maybe Jess. Chris heard one guy call for a medic.

He looked down at Ashley, “You called the police.”

Jess, Emily and Mike didn’t have their phones. He doubted Hannah had hers and Sam would never jump to this. He knew both his and Ashley’s phones had been taken. His mind had first jumped to Matt but his phone had to be in his jacket. The jacket Ashley was wearing. It was her. She was turning Josh, their best friend outside of each other, into the authorities. 

Despite everything that had happened Chris couldn’t help but feel betrayed on Josh behalf. 

She’d never given up on Josh before. They were the ones who got through to him when they knew this Josh was rearing his head. He’d asked them to hide this, him, from Hannah and Beth and so they did. They took him out to get drunk or high whenever the voices were too loud. Ashley held his head while he cried and Chris stayed by the door watching for the twins. They held him back when he was trying to fight strangers or vandalize property because he was so anger. He was just always so very anger and Chris and Ashley were probably the only ones in their little clique who knew this Josh even existed. The only two Bob and Melinda had allowed to see him when he “went to visit his grandfather in New York for a few weeks” after acting up. Allowed to help them keep it a secret. To help them hide it. The girls couldn’t know. The gang couldn’t know. No one could know.

They regretted it. They’d talked about it. They’d admit to each other they wished they didn’t know.

Ashley was curled into his chest again. That brought on memories he was ashamed to admit he didn’t totally hate. But that- he wasn’t supposed to be like that. He wasn’t that guy. He didn’t know how he was meant feel after all this. He didn’t know anything about any of this. Chris didn’t like not knowing. He didn’t know Josh. He didn’t know Ashley. 

And somehow Chris didn’t even know himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beth bringing some levity. 
> 
> And no Sam does not mean she is breaking up with Beth. She is just reassuring Hannah that even if she did leave Beth, she believes Hannah would stick by her.


	12. Reset Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting over is hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to let you all know there is a short 3 chapter sequel in the works so keep an eye out for that.

Coming into the cavern Hannah saw the many lights flickering along the walls. Sam was exhausted and much shorter so she did not seem to notice. She trekked on until they came to the last ladder they had climbed when they left. She lowered Hannah to sitting on the ground as gently as she could. Once she was sitting Sam collapsed. Hannah felt awful. Sam had pushed herself to her furthest limits to bring her this far and they still had to make it down the ladders and back to the lodge.

Luckily (maybe) they didn’t have to worry about that.

“Who’s up there?” The voice was stern. It was not friendly in the slightest. Hannah might even have described it as threatening and suspicious. Sam clearly could not move so with the last remaining bits of energy Hannah slid to the ledge to wave down to the voices. There were a lot of them. Over ten men and women inspecting the space and paying attention to every little detail. The woman who had her light on Hannah said something quietly as if talking to herself into the shoulder of her vest before she called to her once more, “Are you hurt, miss?”

Hannah’s head was still fuzzy and the light hurt. She nodded and that was still a bad idea. She cleared her throat best she could to yell, “Yes and I think my friend might pass out. Oh my god! And my sister! Please! She’s missing. We think she’s in these mines somewhere. Please! You have to help us find her. We’re twins so she looks just like me!”

“Please calm down, ma’am!” The woman said. Her voice had softened upon finding Hannah was not a threat, “First we’re sending someone up to get you and then we can talk, okay?”

Hannah nodded far too hard. Gah, why did she keep doing that to herself? She was ready and willing to do anything though if it meant Beth would be found. Sam was breathing so heavily next to her. Oh poor beautiful Sam who loved too much. What ethereal being had decided that Hannah was worthy enough to have met Sam? No one loved like Sam. Except maybe Beth. She needed them both, more than ever.

The men who climbed up to help her and her ‘sister’ were strong, hulking men that any other time Hannah would get flustered and worked up over. Being saved by a tall, handsome, beefcake of a man might’ve been in her top three fantasies. Yet she was too drained for her heart to even putter slightly when one of them slung her onto his shoulders to fireman carry her back down. (The fact that he had not carried her bridal style was an even greater break in the romantic illusion). Another man did the same with Sam, who still looked like she might pass out. Hannah felt like she could easily knock out herself… 

No! She had to stay awake. For Beth and for Sam. She may have been knocked down a peg or two but she was not done fighting.

“Hannah!” So much of that lost strength surged again in her body when she heard him call.

She tried to push off of her rescuer to find him. He was far off and almost lost in the moving crowd but he was there. “Matt!”

Unfortunately the man pulled her tighter to him and out of sight to see Matt as he said, clearly annoyed, “Ma’am, you need to stay still!”

She sighed. At least she knew he was alright. Hopefully Emily was with him. Maybe the two of them had found Beth. She wanted so bad for someone to have found Beth. There was nothing she wanted more in the world. Well except to see Josh. Her eyes welled up with tears. She felt as if she had never been so separated from them. Hannah, Beth and Josh. The soul, the body and the brain. Too bad the person they made up together was such a terrible one.

She was carried the entire way back to the lodge. It was nice because she was weak and tired but it was also initializing. She had made it through this hell on her own. Mostly on her own anyway. She didn’t need anyone’s help! Not anymore and not ever again! Never! Hannah could stand on her own two feet. Unfortunately that was only figuratively and not literally.

Sam was being carried nearby and she was asleep. She deserved it but it made Hannah feel very alone. Matt and Emily were being led back by more rescue workers a little ways behind them. Beth and Josh were gone. Maybe forever. She was okay though. She was going to be okay. She was stronger after this torture night.

There was no stop in Josh’s lair (his actual lair, not the fun one in their home basement) nor in his maze of torture and horror. Their group headed through the basement and up the stairs as if it was that easy, as if it had always been that easy. No extra pounds held them down even though she was sure she weighed a whole lot more as they made their way back to her family lodge. Back to a place she’d once called her second home. She wanted to burn it to the fucking ground.

Once the living room was in view Hannah saw Jess was laid on one side being looked over by a man in slightly different grab then the others. A doctor most likely. Ashley was in a chair by the T.V. as one of these many people spoke to her and wrote what was important down in a notepad. Chris kept leaning that direction. He would have ran to her side if he could. She could tell by the way his feet twitched. Some unusually strong bond seemed to have developed between them, one stronger than the friendship they’d had before they came up there.

There was no sign of Mike and no sign of Josh. Worst of all still no sign of Beth.

Sam was laid near Jess and Hannah was sat between her and Chris. Emily and Matt were pulled aside. Probably for the same reason Ashley had been. Hannah understood how Chris must feel when Matt was taken too far away from her. Enough that she could see him but not enough to reach him. Chris looked her way and moved closer. He didn’t ask about Beth. Her face must have answered that question.

Instead they sat together in silence. Tired and worn and Hannah was sure after Sam, she was next in the medical examination row. Chris seemed fine physically. Emotionally though he looked more broken than she thought was possible. Chris was like Beth. He took care of everybody. Sam took care of Beth. So for the first time Hannah wondered, ‘who takes care of Chris?’

It was after that thought that she saw Josh being led through the room from wherever he’d been in a set of handcuffs once again. Only this time it was not Mike, Matt and Chris holding him down, it was a pair of men with guns and authority. Her big brother had shrunk down until he was tiny. Her superhero had been shot down with kryptonite, Her Joshy was going to jail.

She saw Chris move as if he wanted to do something for him. Help him. Protect him. Hannah pulled him back by his shoulder and saw he was crying. At the sight she started to tear up too. They could do nothing for him. They were powerless. Hannah was used to the feeling. Chris was not. He looked like he might fall apart. She pulled him to her and he went with no fight as she lay his head in her lap to scratch his scalp softly in the way that Josh and Beth and Sam had always done for her. The best thing she could do for her brother in that moment was take care of his best friend. Because someone had to. No. Because she had to.

\---

That moment with Chris was all the human interaction she got until the whole lot of them were herded into waiting helicopters. That is after her leg had been looked at. Emily, Matt, Ashley and Jess in one. Hannah, Sam and Chris in the other. Josh was kept away from them ‘for their safety.’ She was given a temporary cane to walk with as she could not be carried everywhere. That helped quite a lot. Sam was still out cold. All Hannah had was Chris. But he was a good thing to have. Good enough. Even though she wanted Josh who was out of reach. She wanted Beth who could’ve been anywhere. She wanted Sam still asleep. She wanted Matt. She tried to take comfort in the fact he was in the air too, not far and they would be taken to the same place. Though nothing could be a sufficient stand in for her siblings.

They were not taken to at a hospital. Apparently none of their injuries were severe enough to warrant a rush to a doctor. They were at a police station or something like it. Sam hadn’t woken up but the medic assured there was no reason to assume she wouldn’t. It was exhaustion and nothing more. Not entirely sure why, Hannah held Chris’ hand as they were led into a cell. They said they simply had nowhere big enough to fit them. They weren’t in trouble. Chris looked like he didn’t believe them. Hannah trusted Chris so she didn’t either. Although they did not lock them in.

Finally after what felt like far too long the others were brought to them. Jess was being half carried by Emily as she led her to the other ‘bed’ in there. Sam had been placed on the one closet to the bench she and Chris shared. Almost at the exact same time as soon as they were at the door both Matt and Ashley rushed into the space toward them. Ashley basically tackled Chris against the wall and not seeming to care about how inappropriate it was climbed into his lap to cover his face in soft kisses. Matt had knelt down right in front of Hannah and his hands waved as if he wanted to check her for any sign of damage but was afraid to touch her.

She sighed, appreciative of his concern but ludicrously also a little jealous of the amount of affection Ashley gave Chris as soon as she saw him in comparison to how Matt was treating her. Not too much as Ashley was reprimanded very quickly and told to sit on the opposite bench by Jess and Emily and away from Chris. Matt’s cautiousness meant he could stay by her. It was just that he’d swooped in like a hero and she was his princess. So wasn’t she the one deserving of a 'finally reunited’ kiss?

Maybe everybody only got one and hers had been earlier that night. It was dusty and smelled damp and tasted salty. Truthfully in the moment it had been wonderful and romantic but looking back it had been a horrible kiss. She hadn’t been ready for it. She hadn’t relaxed into like they did in the movies. He had not given her time to. It was too hard and honestly his hands on her shoulders had kind of hurt a little. While it was an amazingly romantic moment, probably would always be the most romantic moment of her entire life, the kiss itself had been a bad one. Ashley kissing Chris looked so natural, looked as if they belonged together and it only highlighted the feeling. She wanted another chance. Another kiss.

Unfortunately she wasn’t sure she wanted to kiss Matt. Things were so tense when he burst from out of the wall in to save her. The way he had led her through it. The way he called to her, worried. The way he hovered over her body then, checking her for wounds. It was all very beautiful and sweet. But it felt like it all existed outside of real life. Hannah didn’t want to live in fantasies anymore.

In real life Beth was still missing and Josh had been arrested. No fantasy could change that. No fantasy could fix that. Not even the one she had always wanted with what was probably the most perfect guy. Dreams die. Hannah’s were no different. That night had taken so much from her. Stripped her of what she thought she was. Life wasn’t a fantasy, life wasn’t a game and dreams didn’t come true.

\---

Soon enough their parents trickled in.

To no one’s surprise Mrs. Hartley and Mr. Riley got there first. Mrs. Hartley probably would have ran there if she couldn’t find a ride. She was a little bit of a helicopter mom. Mr. Riley dropped right next to Emily by Jess’ bed, not bothering to say anything to anyone. Likewise Mrs. Hartley made a beeline for Chris. She pulled him to his feet and began to inspect every inch of him she could.

“Christopher! Are you hurt? What happened to you? Why are you in a jail cell?” She fired too many questions at once. He turned red. Hannah was a little shocked embarrassment was even possible after the night they’d had. She saw Chris’ eyes land on and stay on Ashley, who also turned red.

“I’ll explain some things later, mom. Just I’m okay. For the most part.”

“Daddy…” Jessica’s voice rang out after hours of silence, “Oh daddy, I’m scared! I wanna go home!”

“Shh, baby girl, daddy’s here,” he soothed her, “We’re gonna get you home and cleaned up and then you can rest. We’ll even make of that eggplant lasagna you love.”

“Ugh,” Chris moaned then shut up when his mom gave him a stern look. Mr. Riley picked Jess up into his arms. She looked like a small child. A tiny, helpless child. She reached out to Emily who reached to her when she did. They held hands briefly.

“Tell me if you find out what happened to Mike. Please, Em.”

“Of course. The second I know. Anything for my girl.” Jess smiled and settled against her father as he took her away from them, away from all of this. Chris’ mom placed a hand on his back to lead him out as well. However he stopped at the cell door to walk over to Ashley. Apparently the two of them had abandoned the concept of proper social behavior because he took her face in hand and this time it was him who kissed her. Hannah did have to wonder when the two had gotten on casual kissing terms.

“You’ll be okay alone, right?”

“I’m not alone, Chris.” 

She did not assure him she would be okay though. His mother somehow looked confused, worried and happy all at once. She put her hand back on his shoulder and pulled him out of the cell. He kept looking back at them. Unlike Jess, he did not want to leave. He didn’t want to leave her or Ashley or really any of them.

“Oh honey, where is Joshua? Is he alright?” Was the last thing Hannah heard before the two were gone.

Hannah’s heart plummeted. They were going to have to tell their parents. Some of whom loved him, like Chris’ mom who saw him as her second son. Some of whom liked him, like Mike’s father who found him clever and funny. Some of whom hated him, like Sam’s parents who were still worried about him trying to get in Sam’s pants when she was dating their sister. They, her friends, were going to have to tell their parents what a monster Josh was, had been to them. They were going to have to talk about what happened to them. They might have to testify against him. Would she? Hopefully not.

She had to tell Bob and Melinda though. Josh couldn’t and Beth was still missing out there somewhere and her heart ached every time she thought about it. Hannah was going to have to tell them. Tell them their son was a criminal. Tell them their daughter was lost maybe forever. Tell them she’d been broken and couldn't be fixed. She had to shoulder the sins of all three of them alone. If she knew it was a finite, she would not have wasted Josh and Beth’s support on stupid shit her whole life.

Emily’s parents were next and had she not known them Hannah would have thought they didn’t care their oldest daughter was being held in a jail cell, dirty and bloody. But they showed their love in the only way they knew how to. They stormed into the cell as if they were on a war path. They glared at Hannah as they did. Then they turned to their daughter.

“How hurt are you?” her father demanded.

“My knees are badly beat up and I have rope burn on my wrists.” Her father’s face turned red and purple as he boiled with anger.

Her mother though looked right at Hannah. Matt had moved to her side. He pat her knee as the woman took a few steps her way. Then he slung his arm around her once she was close enough to be leaning over them with a storm of rage in her eyes, “Tell your parents we’re suing! We demand compensation for the emotional and physical trauma our daughter has suffered! Do you know how this could effect her life? Her future? You tell them they better lawyer up because we’ll take them for everything they are worth and they’ll be lucky if they only have to pay for her medical expenses!”

Hannah shrunk away from her and Matt tightened his hold on her. He looked about to tell this woman exactly what he thought of her treatment of Hannah when Emily piped up. 

“Mom, I’m not sure this is the time. I just want to go home, eat something and then take a really, really, long, hot bath.”

Emily stood and her father, who had always been the slightly more affectionate of the two, put his arm around her to lead her away. Her mother followed after them but before she left the cell she pointed hard at Hannah with a threatening glare. As their family left a small stout man walked passed them and up to the cell door. Hannah had not seen this man before but based on the people left in the space and the way he looked at Ashley she knew whose parent he was. Ashley hadn’t had nice things to say about her dad in the freezer. He was an intimidating man that was for sure.

He said nothing, pointed at his daughter, loudly snapped his fingers then curled his pointer finger in a ‘come here’ motion. Hannah felt Matt tense up. Ashley did not hesitate to walk over. To his credit he did put a hand on her shoulder and look her over to see if she was okay. He even pat her head loving for a moment. If she didn’t know what she did Hannah might’ve thought he was just an overly concerned and strict but caring father. Once sure she was okay though he face turned stony.

He looked over at Matt who was not brave enough to meet his eye back. Sam might have been the only one in there who could have but she was still sound asleep. Hannah wished she could sleep. She was far too jazzed for that. She looked up once she was sure the man was no longer looking at her and Matt. Ashley’s father was taking in what she was wearing and did not look happy. Matt had gotten his jacket back from her so her tight belly shirt and very short shorts were visible again.

“So party with the whole gang then?” he asked in a not nice tone.

“Dad-”

“So was this,” he gestured up and down her body. (Jeez, Hannah had never seen a more frightening finger in her life.), “For the tall, smug asshole or the wiry, pretentious one?”

Ashley somehow was able to maintain eye contact.

“I was trying to get Josh’s attention.” She lied. Hannah was furious. Ashley thought just because Josh was in trouble she could use him as a cover for her and Chris?! It was official. Starting from that day Hannah hated Ashley. She was supposed to be one of Josh’s best friends, that liar, that goddamn traitor. She was apparently good at it too as her father looked angry but not as if he didn’t believe her.

“We’ll talk about this later though let’s get one thing straight right now.” He was leading Ashley away a tiny bit rougher than the other parents had. “You’re never seeing that little pervert again. Got it?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that, dad.”

It was just her and Matt (plus an unconscious Sam). They should talk about something. About anything. Well no, not anything. She couldn’t talk about the night, the kiss, what it meant for him and her. It was far too much. She did not have it in her. She was so full of dread knowing she was inching ever closer to talking with her parents. She almost hoped they would be there before Matt or Sam’s parents would, but the next two sets of parents to come down the hall together were the Taylors and Giddings.

Matt stood up himself to let his mother crush him a hug. His father was still by the door holding back a little girl who looked a lot like Matt. Hannah was surprised they would bring her along. But Melody probably would have been worse off at home and not able to see him. She simply adored Matt. He was her big brother, her superhero, her Matty.

“Matty,” she cried breaking free of her father’s hold to run up to him as his mother inspected him as every parent before her had done. Matt lifted her into his arms with ease and she hugged him tight. How he had the energy to show such affection after all this was an amazement. But he was Melody’s big brother and big brothers always had the energy to love you. 

Hannah turned away to see that the Giddings had sat by their daughter’s head at the end of the bench. They held each other tightly as they watched over her. Sam was their only child. She was their baby. Hannah would never be able to fathom how they felt. Sam said her parents had been through a lot over the course of their lives. Seeing their daughter like this must’ve been torture for them. Neither seemed to want to wake her even though they had to because they could not stay.

“Hannah.” She turned back to Matt when he said her name. His eyes were soft and his smile was warm. He looked at her like she was his oasis, if he left the heat would kill him in moments. She knew it then. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to kiss Matt. She wanted her second chance. She deserved that and so did he. She would make sure it was perfect this time. That it was just as romantic as the first one was and that the kiss was great too.

“I’m not far,” he said. Her heart sank because that chance was gone. She couldn't do it. He was leaving, “You let me know if you need anything. Doesn’t matter what. Whatever it is I’ll get it.”

‘I need you.’ She sighed and nodded as he shifted Melody higher onto his hip as he was led away like the others before him. They were all gone.

“Beth!”

Hannah turned as soon as she heard Sam call. (No. They weren’t all gone.) Her mother had reached out to wake her. Apparently Sam sprang up. She looked around frantically until her eyes landed on Hannah.

“Where are we?” she asked sounding out of breath, “What happened?”

“You fell asleep. The rescue workers brought us here by helicopter. Everyone’s parents already came to pick them up. It’s just us.”

“Beth!” Sam gasped out, “Where is Beth? Did they find her?”

“I don’t- I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

“Cas- Samantha dear, what is going on?” Her mother reached out again to stroke her hair.

Sam sighed, “Beth and I were hiking on the mountain and we fell. Far. We were separated and I haven’t seen her since and-”

“Easy there, girl,” her father said moving to sit by her, “There’s no use in getting worked up. You don’t even know what happened.”

“I know.”

“Tell you what,” he continued, “We’ll wait here until there is some news about your girlfriend, okay?”

“Really?”

“Honey,” her mother answered, “We know you and we know if we leave without you knowing what happened to Beth, you’ll be a wreck.”

Sam relaxed against her father, “Thanks mom, thanks dad.”

“Of course.” Her father hugged her to him. Her mother sat by Hannah. She reached over to brush hair from out of Hannah’s face like she had done for her own daughter as her husband surveyed them both, “Dang, you girls look like you’ve had a hell of a night.”

Hannah snorted, “You can’t even imagine.”

“Eh,” Sam’s father replied, “You might be surprised.”

Sam elbowed her dad a little and he smiled. Sam was true to her word. She didn’t leave. She wouldn’t leave her. Just like she said. Sam would never let Hannah be alone.

Which was good cause far long after the rest of their parents arrived the Washingtons came into view. To their credit they looked worried underneath their anger and heartbreak. Hannah soon realized the hold-up had been because of Josh. They had been being informed on what happened to him after the police showed up. Clearly the last thing they had wanted to see was Hannah in a cell.

Her mother ran in much like Matt and Chris’ had. She hugged her tightly to her and Hannah wished this could be it. She was in her mother’s arms. She was safe and loved and everything could end. She could wake up. Josh and Beth nearby. ‘You fell asleep, little sis. Again.’ ‘Why do you always fall asleep when we watch movies I like?’ ‘Because you have bad taste.’ ‘Shut up, Josh.’

She closed her eyes tight. It was over. It could end. It could stop. But when she opened her eyes to lean out of her mother’s grasp she found that she was still in the same place with the same people. Her ankle still hurt. She was still bruised, bloody, dirty and tired. Everything had been real. This was her real life and she had to stop wishing. Wishes were useless things. Hannah was done with wishing.

“Well,” her father said looking her over, “At least one of you made it out of this mess intact.”

Oh no! What did that mean for Beth?! Obviously they knew. They were not too upset so she must at least be alive. Beth was alive! Hannah knew it. In her heart she always did. For the first time in awhile Hannah’s body filled with elation. It felt like the dawn was finally breaking. The night was finally over. Beth was the sun and she was here to light up the world. Hannah felt tears in her eyes and heard Sam sniffling a little herself. Beth was okay, Sam was okay, Hannah was okay. It was all going to be okay.

“One out of three is better than nothing,” Sam sighed sounding just as happy as Hannah felt. From the look they gave her the Washington parents had not appreciated that comment.

“Where’s Beth?” Hannah couldn’t wait anymore. She had to know.

Her father sounded sad and frustrated and so many other things she couldn’t really name when he said, “She’s at the hospital. She was airlifted there when they found her.”

His voice conveyed he had more to say that he was saving for later. Her mother sat between her and Mrs. Giddings and strangely Hannah felt less not more protected after she did. She was breathing hard and not quite pacing as her mother rubbed her back to encourage her to stand with her. Once she was up the three Giddings followed suit.

“Well,” Mr. Giddings said, “If everything is settled I guess we should head over to the hospital.”

Hannah father gave him a confused glare before he responded, “If it’s all the same to you we would rather keep this a family matter.”

“We understand that,” Mrs. Giddings said in his place, “But we hoped you would make an exception for Sam considering-”

“It’s fine, mom,” Sam half-yelled, “I know she’s okay and that’s something. I can rest now. In fact I would really like to rest so we should head out.”

Her parents gave her a much softer version of the ‘we will talk later’ look than Hannah’s father had before Sam came over to hug her tight. The girls hugged and Hannah could feel the emotions coming off Sam that mirrored her own. They were both scared they would never see each other again even though that was ridiculous. They were afraid the other would fall, break down once they were apart from each other. They both knew the last thing the other wanted was to end this hug or this moment. But eventually they had to pull back.

“Please, Hannah,” Sam said as she backed her way to her parents again. Hannah knew what she meant. Please tell Beth I love her, that I can’t wait to see her, that I will get there as soon as I can. So Hannah nodded to her. Sam’s face softened and she mouthed ‘thanks’ before saying, “Bye, Hannah. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

Despite the goodbyes, Hannah’s family followed Sam’s out to their cars though a good distance away. The Giddings were on the road first. Josh though did not leave with the Washington family.

\---

Hannah was not surprised to see Mr. Munroe in the hospital waiting room. She hated herself a little bit because she felt relieved to know Mike was most likely okay. That was silly. She didn’t hate Mike and death would be too extreme a punishment even if she did. She should be happy he was probably fine. Mr. Munroe seemed to have only come there for coffee because he turned around and was let into the back as soon as he had some. He didn’t say anything to the Washingtons as they spoke with the woman at the front counter. 

Well, her father was closer to yelling. That was unfair. It wasn’t like she had done anything to Beth. She eventually gave them three passes to go into the ICU where Beth (and Mike) was being held. Hannah wanted to run but she followed walking calmly, partially because the cane made running hard. Lucky for her it was the second door as soon as they got back there. Hannah didn’t care about her parents anymore at that point. She pushed between them, racing through the door, her ankle be damned! 

Beth lay flat on her back though her head was cushioned and her neck secured. She gazed at Hannah with happy, tired eyes and she smiled just a little. Her parents spoke. They probably spoke to Beth but it was clear neither girl cared. Beth was there. She was there and she was alive! Nothing else mattered. Nothing that was not Beth mattered. Hannah moved slowly to stand as close to her as she was allowed.

“Hey, baby sis,” Hannah said wanting to touch her but having a feeling she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t allowed very close to her sister. Her neck was in a brace to keep her from moving it. She was strapped down for probably the same reason. She wasn’t allowed to move. This was not good. She was hurt badly.

“You know I hate it when you call me that.”

“You hate it when anyone calls you anything but Beth.”

She made a noise Hannah interpreted as laughter. She saw Beth’s eyes started tearing up. She glanced back to see her parents talking to a pair of medical professionals. This might be her only chance. So she leaned as close to her sister as she could get.

“Sam says she loves you. She wishes she could be here. She can’t wait to see you. She’s want to come see you soon. And I’ll make sure she can. Promise.”

Beth’s eyes turned guilty as she rasped out, “Hannah…”

“No, don’t push yourself.” Hannah shook her head. Ow, okay maybe SHE needed to see a doctor too. “You’re forgiven. Completely.”

“I shouldn’t have left you.”

“You shouldn’t have but you did and I forgive you. I haven’t made this fair for you guys. I don’t blame you two for wanting some space from me.”

“No, Hannah. We love you.”

“I know you do. But you wanted to be away from me and it hurt me a lot. But it makes sense. The way I’ve been acting was wrong. Beth, the three of us, we’re going to figure things out, okay? I want us to.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely.”

Beth looked more relaxed. She was hooked to an IV and several other things Hannah could not name. She was probably drugged. She looked like she was going to fall asleep any second and her parents had a right to talk to her too. Hannah backed away as her parents came forward. 

That was when she felt just how hungry she was. So knowing her mom was fine with her taking them, she wandered over to the chair she had set her purse on to dig around in search of cash or a bank care. She’d been limping a bit since she fell but mostly she managed to walk on her own okay with the cane after some rest. That meant her foot couldn’t be too badly hurt which was a weigh off her mind. It was a struggle but she didn’t want help. She never wanted help again.

She headed out the door and went in search of a vending machine. She honestly didn’t give a fuck if her parents were worried or upset. She’d put off talking with them as long as she could. As soon as Beth was asleep they were going to drill her. ‘What happened?’ ‘How did you get hurt?’ ‘Why was your brother arrested?’ ‘What was your sister doing in the mines in the first place?’ ‘Why wasn’t she with you and Josh at the lodge?’

Hannah was at the vending machine when she thought of that one. Oh god, no. She was going to have to tell her parents Beth went up to the guest cabin. That Beth went up to the cabin with Sam. The romantic guest cabin far from the main lodge with one bed. Her parents weren’t stupid. She knew they already suspected it about Beth. Her going there with Sam alone was confirmation. In their eyes at least. But then it was true. The assumption they'd make would be right. She couldn't lie. They’d be questioned at some point or another and the police would want the truth.

Hannah was about to basically out Beth.

She was watching the front cover of the machine and her sure-to-be-disgusting-but-fuck-it-I’m-starving sandwich fell. Three quarters of the way down it got stuck. She stared at it. So much had happened to her that night. Things much worse than this. Yet seeing it filled Hannah with rage. She was not even allowed to eat?! All she wanted was one stupid sandwich. She’d had a long fucking last few hours and she just wanted to eat. It was simple. It was so simple. But of course Hannah was not allowed to have things be simple anymore.

Hannah slammed two clenched fists hard against the plastic. She did it again, again, again, again, again and again! She hated it. She hated this fucking thing with everything she had. She wanted to smash it to fucking pieces and laugh about how she’d destroyed it. She wanted it to crumble under her hands from all the power she had gained. She was better than this thing. It had no right to punish her. She had done nothing wrong! She did not deserve this. Life was not fair.

“Your sandwich dropped down already.”

Hannah turned to the voice her teeth grinding. No one had the right to speak to her. But soon her face softened as of all people Mike came closer to put his own money in the machine. He didn’t react much to the fact that it was Hannah next to him. He punched the numbers in and then he watched as the snack he picked slid out of its row. It too got stuck in almost the same place as Hannah’s sandwich.

“Mind giving this thing a whack for me? You seem good at it.”

Hannah didn’t answer and looked away. She heard a slight bang as he knocked his candy loose himself. Through the side of her eyes she saw him bend down to retrieve it. When he stood back up she saw her plastic wrapped sandwich was suddenly under her nose. She looked at him again and tried hard not to snatch it away. She took it and muttered a ‘thanks’ so quietly he definitely did not hear her. She didn’t need any help. Least of all from him.

He turned his candy bar around in his hands a few times, “I usually avoid sugar but I think I earned it.”

Hannah felt herself nod a little.

“I want to believe you didn’t pick that door. I want to believe you didn’t want to leave me to the mercy of some psychopath, oh wait no, Josh the psychopath. I want to believe that door was going to open no matter what either of us did.”

He sighed and shook his head and turned his candy bar some more.

“I don’t.”

“You shouldn’t.” She finally found her voice and that’s what she said? One would think after all this she would’ve stopped saying stupid things to her stupid high school crush. He always made her a mess and it seemed he always would.

“I want to be mad.”

“You aren’t?”

“No, I am.” He sort of laughed, “But more than that I’m sorry. I’m sorry and I’m disappointed. In you and in me. And in him. And in everybody.”

Hannah looked down and away. It was honestly a feeling that was more than justified. Once she had thought about it the feeling became one she shared.

“We’re not good people are we, Mike?”

“Not exactly.” He was looking at his candy bar and not her, “I think we’re good people who just also happen to be good at hurting other people.”

Hannah looked away from him too. Everything she ever felt for him was gone. Her romantic feelings, her anger, her disappointment, her guilt. Mike meant nothing to her anymore and from the tone of his voice it seemed he felt the same about her. After a long silence they finally locked eyes. He looked her over once and made that ‘maybe it was a laugh’ noise again.

“I think I’d call us even, Hannah.”

She agreed with her eyes and knew he saw it.

“And I never want to see your fucking face again.”

He started to walk away. She watched him. She hoped her heart would feel something and eventually it ached with a dull thump of regret. She would do it differently. All of it. If she could. If she could start things over. But that was not an option. Maybe once it had been before but it was not one anymore.

He stopped and turned around like he knew she was still there. He made that noise one last time before in a much meaner voice he said, “Oh. If I ever, ever, see your brother again I’ll kill him. Have a nice life.”

He’d meant both. She could tell. Things stayed still and silent and emotionless as Micheal Munroe walked out of Hannah Washington’s life forever.

\---

They got hotel rooms nearby even though Hannah would rather have stayed at the hospital with Beth or gone back to the police station for Josh. (She saw a doctor for her head who said it was more likely stress and not a concussion.) Bob and Melinda had been asleep for hours claiming the night was “hard on them.” Hannah silently laughed at them. They couldn’t handle half of what she had. They would’ve cracked.

But she hadn’t. She’d made it. 

So she watched the sunrise through her hotel window and she thought of them. Jess in a dead sleep as her father fussed over everything. He’d call every doctor he knew once he was sure they were awake. Chris crying as he told his mom about his best friend's betrayal and break down. Would he tell her about Ashley? Whatever it was that was happening there. Emily reciting everything that had happened. They’d need everything she had to take the Washingtons to court. Just one more time, Emily. Tell us one more time. Ashley probably being 'punished,' regretting everything she’d done. She managed to feel terribly sorry for her. She hated the girl but she wasn’t heartless. Matt playing with Melody the whole car road home. Her laugh would make him feel better, it would make him smile. Matt deserved to smile. Sam pacing and shaking even after Hannah had texted her that her girlfriend was going to be okay. Sam would not rest until she saw the love of her life with her own two eyes. Mike seething in anger. He had been keeping calm as a show for her. She heard him yelling as the Washingtons left the hospital.

She wasn’t asleep or crying or reliving or regretting or denying or worrying or seething. She didn’t have to. She was strong. Stronger than all of them were by this point. They had endured small pieces. She had endured it all. She knew she could survive anything. She was a new Hannah. No, she was an improved Hannah. One that was brave and powerful. She felt disgusted when she realized that had been her brother’s end goal. It had worked so he'd won his little game.

And Hannah had lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodbye.
> 
> Feedback always welcome and appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> This Chapter is almost entirely set-up. Future chapters will be longer. Also things will start off kind of following the event of the game with a few notable differences from there this story will go it's own route. One I think might be clear already, but who knows.
> 
> As always Feedback is encouraged and welcomed.


End file.
